Marmalade
by deathnotechicky
Summary: Hana's always had a habit of overthinking things, & it's caused many misunderstandings in the past. She's working hard to change but still finds herself running into even more obstacles. A dazzling light & his shadow just so happen to be two of them. Maybe this time, she shouldn't think so much? But for Hana, that's easier said than done... Kuroko x OC, OC-Centric
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Hana's always had a habit of overthinking things, & it's caused many misunderstandings in the past. She's working hard to change but still finds herself running into even more obstacles. A dazzling light & his shadow just so happen to be two of them. Maybe this time, she shouldn't think so much? But for Hana, that's easier said than done...

 **Pairing:** Kuroko x oc

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Kuroko's Basketball or any of its characters, but I do own this story and the oc's in it! :3

 **A/N:** So after being on hiatus due to college and my other responsibilities, I decided to go ahead and revamp this story. It felt like I was really just testing the waters the first time around, and after taking a break and really taking the time to get to know my characters, I realized that the way I'd written them previously didn't exactly match with the way I'd intended. So I felt a need to go back and make changes to the story that I felt were necessary. Nothing **major,** I promise.^^The only big changes I've made are in the first chapter, but other than that, everything else will be kept pretty much the same (with the acception of dialogue and other minor details here and there). If you were already following this story than you might notice the changes, if not, than I don't really blame you tbh. It's been forever since I updated anyways.

 _And to all the new readers, thank you for deciding to read this!_ I hope you can be as patient with updates as I am writing about awkward teenagers falling in love lol xD ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

* * *

A blur of red hair sprung up, its owner seeming to waver against the force of gravity in midair before two muscular arms dunked a ball into a worn out net. A smile broke across Hana's lips as she silently cheered.

Over the past few weeks it had become a sort of habit of hers; as she'd ease into the chore of scrubbing dishes at the tiny sink of her kitchenette, her eyes would casually glance up and peer through her window, instantly spotting the stranger who'd be there already shooting hoops. He was barely visible from behind the trees that surrounded the basketball court, so she'd have to crane her neck sometimes just to get a better view from her apartment across the street. Sometimes she'd even pause in the process of adjusting her angle at the sink and flush at the realization of what she was doing. It was silly considering there wasn't anybody else there but her.

All she knew was that he was tall, had red hair, and was in incredibly good shape. Other than that, she couldn't really make out any facial features, and she'd never stuck around long enough to catch a better glimpse of him on his way home. It wasn't like Hana felt any urge to get to know him. Not really. Just being able to watch him from her kitchen window was enough to keep her attentive as she did her chores.

Dribbling from one end of the court to the other, his body jerked to a halt from somewhere in the center of the court. Bringing the ball up again, it flew from his hands in a smooth arc and into the net.

 _Another three-pointer? Good job._

She stays like this for a few moments longer, idly rinsing utensils and placing them into the dish rack until the stranger is out of sight, and then back again. The white polka-dotted clock that hung on the wall in the living room ticks the seconds away, noisily. It was the only thing keeping her company in the apartment she was now calling home.

A few months before graduating from junior high, Hana's parents had dropped the bombshell of their move to Kyoto. It was where they'd decided to unveil their shiny new restaurant, and they were absolutely over the moon about finally being able to be their own bosses. It marked the start of a new chapter in their lives- a chapter they'd been putting off for decades in order to raise their family, but Hana couldn't bring herself to share in her parents' excitement. Instead, she'd done something so unexpected that it had left her parents flabbergasted. She'd dug her heels in, used her best loud voice, and pleaded for permission to remain in Tokyo. By herself.

In junior high, she hadn't been able to meet any of the rotten requirements her classmates deemed necessary in order to become their friend, and she'd absolutely refused to join said classmates in any clubs after school. Instead, she'd become a part of the "Go home" club and did just that everyday. Any inkling of a social life she had was centered solely around the girl she'd become friends with during the summer that she'd attended cram school. So with the acception of that one friend, leaving the house at all had been near inexistent for her. With their daughter's introverted self in mind, her parents were skeptical. Hana argued that her life was still in Tokyo and that she didn't feel quite ready to leave it behind. "Reinvent herself", was the key phrase used. "Independence", another. She wanted to prove to _herself_ that she was capable of changing. To prove to _them_ that she could do fine on her own. If she put in the effort, than maybe she'd be able to be one less worry for her parents as they embarked on their new journey. And above all, she wanted to have some sort of control over her destiny, whatever it may be.

One way or the other, she'd gotten them to agree. They still insisted on taking care of everything for her, but Hana refused and told them she didn't need an allowance. She'd pay for her phone and everything herself and even work up the courage to get a part-time job. They were against it at first but were so impressed by their youngest daughter that they decided to allow her on the condition that she let them pay the rent. She was still a student, after all, and they still expected her to report back excellent grades. They still had high expectations of her, and she didn't want to let them down. She didn't want to fail after getting this far. Especially after she'd begged them to let her stay.

But aside from the apartment, had anything really changed?

Hana forces the thought into the recesses of her mind and glances over at the clock. "Oh, shoot," she says, alerted by the approaching time. She leaves the remaining dishes for later and peeks through the window to see if the red-haired stranger was still there. He was gone. "You're going to be late," she reminded herself and cut off the stream of sunshine that poured through the window.

After grabbing her purse, she gave herself a quick glance in the mirror before heading out. Frizzy black hair was scraped into what appeared to be a bun but resembled more of a birds nest atop her head. Instead of cute hair accessories, she had bobby pins locking everything into place. They did their best anyway. Hana thought of her face as ordinary; Save for the thick eyebrows from her mother's side of the family. She was appreciative of the eyes she'd inherited from her father, though. Their orange pigment served as a reminder for the individual who was currently waiting for her today.

And she didn't plan on being late.

* * *

Sparkling green eyes watched Hana curiously as she stepped into the shade of the discount shop next door. It took everything she had not to turn to the owner of those eyes and greet them with a smile that still felt foreign to her own face. Urging herself to be patient, she set her attention on the rotating display stand outside of the shop and twirled the familiar Doraemon keychain between her thumb and index finger. It wouldn't be long now, she told herself. By now, even her green-eyed observer knew the way things worked.

"Excuse me," a voice called out from below.

"What?" Hana's body jolts in shock and she tears away from the display as if it were on fire.

A young girl stands beside her with a wrinkled brow. "What's wrong with you?"

Baffled by the girl's tone, Hana looks past the display and meets the sharp eyes of a woman bouncing a crying baby by the entrance. The girl's mother, no doubt.

"Excuse me!" the girl says for the second time.

"Wh-what was that?"

The girl stomps her foot angrily. "Why are you ignoring me? I said **excuse me**."

"I... I'm sorry," Hana says, visibly embarrassed. She could've sworn she felt the eyes of both mother and child crushing her with the same judgmental gaze. Hana gets out of the girl's way as she goes up to inspect the cartoon keychains, and exhales a breath as she turns away. Being a teenager meant she was supposed to be bigger and stronger than them, she thought begrudgingly. But clearly, she wasn't.

 _Kids are so unpredictable._

Like music to her ears, the pleasant sound of a bells jingle rattles behind the window of the animal shelter next door, and Hana's heart radiates with excitement again. A small body of dark orange fur hops up onto the windowsill and makes an effortless walk along the edge in her direction. When Hana looks into the feline's big green eyes, vibrant from the bright sunlight reflecting off of them, she can't repress the smile that stretches across her lips. She peers over the feline's head to make sure the person at the front desk was distracted before squatting down in front of the window. As usual, the woman was munching on her sandwich and pausing briefly to chat to whoever was on the phone cradled between her head and shoulder. Other than her, everybody else working at the shelter was currently out grabbing lunch. "Hello," she greets. "It's been a while, Marmalade."

Marmalade's muffled meow greets her back

"I still can't believe they've finally caught onto you," Hana says, referring to the new bell that hung from Marmalade's collar. Her paws prod at the glass separating them, and Hana wonders if it annoyed her to have mentioned it.

It may be hard to believe, but Marmalade was the first cat that Hana had ever truly come in contact with in her 16 years of life. Due to her fathers' allergies, pets weren't even an option in the Iwasaki household. The first time she went out to explore her new neighborhood, she'd come across Marmalade outside of a bakery a few blocks away. Noticing her collar, Hana had felt reluctant about leaving her by herself, so she'd passed on her errands and spent her first ever afternoon with a cat eating snacks under a tree. And Hana had to admit that the presence of Marmalade alone had been pretty magical. It wasn't until someone from the shelter had approached them that the evening's magic had drained away.

Unwilling to part with the gentle owner of those peridot eyes, she'd followed them back and discovered that Marmalade was rather famous in the neighborhood for breaking out of the shelter. After being taken by the charming little feline, Hana found herself taking detours whenever she was out doing errands, and would bring along snacks in case they ever ran into each other again. And they had, on numerous more occasions. It was the strangest thing. All she had to do was walk in the direction of the shelter, and the fluff of fur would materialize out of thin air somewhere along the way. She was reliable that way, and Hana could always count on their time together to lift her spirits. It wasn't until recently that the workers had finally grown some brains and attached a bell to Marmalade's collar to keep track of her, and that was where the trouble now lay.

Hana's hand pressed against the cool glass as she frowned at her own reflection. It was as easy as simply opening the door while the receptionist was distracted: Marmalade would slip out, they'd make a break for it, and then be back in an hour or two before anyone realized she was gone. Maybe this time, she'd even have the guts to take the marmalade cat home. It sounded so simple, she thought. But taking care of a pet was a really big commitment. Hana was still struggling to get used to living alone, and she didn't want to bring Marmalade into the mix until she felt completely confident that she could care for them both.

As if to challenge her warring thoughts, a face she recognizes steps out of the main entrance, and her stomach drops. Without a moment's hesitation, Hana ducks behind the only potted plant located in front of the shelter's window. The same little girl from earlier gives her a startled look before deciding that the keychain simply wasn't worth it, and runs toward her mother. At the same time, Hana felt a blush creep up her neck as two housewives giggled and side-glanced at her from across the street. _You even fail as a wallflower_ , she internally groans.

"Hana?"

Her heart nearly bursts out of her chest as she's forced to look up. Towering over her was the sole reason she'd been unable to make any friends in junior high. This was the girl who'd make wicked grins at the sight of her becoming the target of people's pranks. Who, for years, had berated her with harsh words, and made her feel like a doormat.

"Iwasaki Hana? I knew that hair looked familiar!" crowed Inohara. Inohara Kaori, whose bright smile, and laugh had preconditioned Hana to look down at her feet.

"Hi," she greets, forcing a smile that felt crooked.

"So you're the ghost whose been coming to see, Tora! And here Asuka thought she was just seeing things," she exclaims, gesturing toward the woman at the front desk.

 _Her name is Marmalade,_ Hana wanted to say. Not the name that she was given by the shelter, and possibly Inohara, but the name that Hana had come up with herself.

The frizzy-haired girl was so nervous that she couldn't say a word. Her heart was beating in her ears, and she felt short of breath. She recognized that familiar urge to turn and run, but Hana does her best to fight her springy nerves and reluctantly wills her body to stand.

"I thought you'd moved to Kyoto?" Inohara asks. She crosses her arms and shifts her weight from her right to left leg. "That's what you told the class anyways."

The way she'd framed her question suggested Hana had done something wrong, but all she could do was pretend it hadn't fazed her. "Th-there was a change of plans," Hana said, disappointed in the shakiness of her voice. Hana could've sworn she looked pleased with herself.

"Really? Than you're going to a school nearby?" She pauses for a second, thinking something over. Then almost immediately, she snaps her fingers."Is it Seirin?"

Hana's stomach dropped again. "How did you know?"

"Nobody I've kept in touch with has mentioned seeing you around, and Seirin's the only place I know that nobody wanted to go to. Or knew existed, really. I'm going to Touou myself." She smirks and rakes a manicured hand through her silky brown hair.

Hana keeps her smile from slanting despite the girl's condescending tone. "Touou?"

"Yeah, it's where all of my friends decided to go. It's too bad you ended up going to Seirin, though. It must be really lonely going there all by yourself."

Hana internally scoffs. Her attitude was really beginning to grate on her nerves, but for the sake of ending things quickly, she opted for short responses.

"It's no big deal."

Inohara gasps in mock surprise. "You really haven't changed at all, huh? I can't even imagine how things must be like for you in school." Before Hana can respond, Inohara turns her attention to the animal behind her. "So you're thinking of adopting, Tora?"

Hana looks back at Marmalade and then to Inohara, becoming flustered by the question.

Inohara wags her finger. "Well, I doubt you'd be able to handle such a sneaky cat like Tora, Hana. Knowing you, you'd probably have a tough time keeping up with her and end up _losing_ her. I think a chubby kitty would be a _much_ better match, you know, because they're so slow-"

"No," Hana cuts in. Annoyance curled in her chest and her body trembled.

She stares a moment, taken aback. "I'm wrong?"

Hana's hands were shaking so badly from the tension that she had to clutch them together to keep still. The bell from Marmalade's collar jingles behind her as if to cheer her on.

Inohara raises an eyebrow at the silence but swung around. "Tora's a _really_ old cat, Hana. And to be honest, it's sort of why no one's bothered to adopt her yet. She's more like the shelter's mascot at this point, so everyone's pretty attached to her. Besides, there're way better cats than Tora that I can introduce you to. _"_

Hana could tell what she was doing but wasn't about to have any of it. It was true that she was anxious about owning a cat. She was inexperienced with them and had only recently begun to gain the confidence she needed to even consider adopting one. But to be told by Inohara that she couldn't _handle it_ , or that she wasn't _capable_ of choosing for herself felt like a bigger insult than Hana could've ever imagined. She was practically vibrating with anger. "It has to be, Marmalade," she says, more firmly this time. "I've already made up my mind."

This causes Inohara's eyes to narrow considerably. _"Marmalade?"_

Even as the warning bells go off, Hana holds her ground and nods.

She shrugs. "Well, if you want to take Marmalade home than you'll have to wait till _after_ lunch is over."

 _Funny how she was so eager to give up her lunch a few seconds ago to show me around..._

"Hana?" She says, patience wearing thin. "You will be here when lunch is over, right?"

Snapping out of it, Hana realizes that this was really truly happening. And not only were things moving fast, but she wasn't anywhere near prepared to own a living breathing cat. Inohara repeats her name impatiently even as the indecision clouded her brain. Jumping in with both feet wasn't how she normally did things. She needed more time. More time to think, to process.

"T-tomorrow!" Hana stammers. "I'll be back tomorrow."

The skepticism was visible in Inohara's eyes as she absorbed her words, no longer putting in the effort in her sunny expression. "Then I'll see you tomorrow," she drawled out, turning to go. And just like that, her former bully was gone.

Pressing a hand against her heart, Hana tried to pull herself together and knelt down closer to the sound of Marmalade's bell.

* * *

It shocked her to see such a high level of restraint on Inohara's part today, especially after all of those times she'd been so quick to snap back, and talk her down. Of course, she'd still been able to talk down to her like she had before, but Hana had pushed back this time for the first time. And that was progress, she insisted. She wasn't the same as she was before- She was different now. Changed. Back then, Hana would've shut down on the spot.

Wanting to take her mind off of her ruined visit with Marmalade, Hana walked the rest of the day and wandered in circles, lost. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to find her way home, but she was too exhausted and hungry to care about how her body worked on autopilot. She's reluctant to pass the staircase on the side of the 3-storied apartment complex, but she does so with heavy feet. The convenience store is located directly below her apartment, and it's nights like these that make her feel grateful for its location.

A loud _BEEP_ greets her and notifies the cashier of her arrival. As the harsh lights illuminate her fatigued face, she keeps it down as she heads toward the aisle with the Bento boxes. After everything that had happened today, the thought of making herself dinner was a prospect Hana didn't currently find welcoming. More than anything, she wanted to take a steaming hot bath, slip on her pajamas and call it a night as she snuggled up against her warm, soft sheets.

The mere thought of her bed waiting upstairs for her made her yawn even louder. Exhausted, and desperate to get this over with, she quickly crouches down and picks out her meal from the bottom shelf. When she rises and turns in the opposite direction, her elbow bumps into something and she hears it hit the ground as it lands behind her. An onigiri rests on the bleached tile, and Hana hangs her head.

As a kaleidoscope of memories tumble before her mind's eye, her fingers tremble against her pale cheek as they unconsciously wipe at the sensation of invisible tears. The same ones that had dripped down her face upon arriving home from school for all those years. Pulling in the reins to her emotions, Hana assured herself that confusing the memories with reality would only hurt her even deeper. But she couldn't help but meld the memories of her past experiences with the events of today, and it seemed to only add to the wound that had opened a few moments ago.

Hana's eyes were steadily welling up with tears and she tries to blink them away. The next thing she knew, she was facing the onigiri she'd dropped from only mere inches from her face. She screams.

"H-hey! What's wrong!?" A masculine voice exclaims from somewhere in front of her. Her eyes glance at him for a second, before pulling away from the blur of red.

 _"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"_

"Are you okay...? You dropped this."

She doesn't look at him when she answers,"I-I'm fine! I'm fine. Thank you." She snatches the onigiri from his hand and rushes away.

Behind him, a boy with an ice cream cone is heading toward the exit. "I'm going to leave you behind if you don't hurry."

" _What the-?_ Just wait a minute, damn it!"

Hana purchases the onigiri along with her bento and is still catching her breath as she hands the money over to the cashier. Avoiding the strange looks from another customer in line, Hana quickly collects her things and hurried out of the store. Red-faced, she presses the food against her chest and runs past someone standing outside, desperate to be rid of an audience once and for all.

She knew she looked crazy. She knew that they were watching her now as she ran. But it didn't matter anymore. It didn't. She was so tired.

She could feel the tears return to her eyes again as she made a mad dash for the stairs. Why was this happening again? Why, after seeing Inohara, were memories of the past becoming clear as day again? Why did she have to be there with Marmalade? _Why?_

Hana was halfway up the stairs when her toes clipped the edge of a step. Before she could even tell what was happening, she reached for the handrail but couldn't manage a solid grip. It slipped through her fingers.

A gasp was let out once she saw the stars overhead.

 _ **"Watch out!"**_

The wind got knocked out of her as she collided against something hard. She was helpless as she and whatever she'd crashed into were sent hurtling down. And all went silent.

Hana felt as though she were rushing through space, and for a few moments, her dizzy head failed to find balance. Opening her eyes, her gaze trailed over the staircase and was immediately greeted by the food that had spilled out of the bento box. One of her shoes, which had slipped off in the midst of the chaos, was now dangling from the edge of the fifth step above her. Her heart drummed wildly in her chest as she tried to process what had happened.

"Iwasaki-san? _Are you all right, Iwasaki-san?"_

As she became vaguely aware of the body pressed against her, Hana leaned against the arm that wrapped around her shoulders and peered into a pair of icy, blue eyes.

 _What? What what what?_

His mouth continued to move, but Hana couldn't hear any of it. As she was gently shaken and snapped out of it, it finally dawned on her what this person had done. She parted her lips to respond but only managed a slight nod.

The boy's body relaxed against hers and he sighed.

 _"What the-!?"_ The both of them turned, and saw a giant with red hair standing by the corner. "Kuroko, what the hell happened!?"

The boy beside Hana stared blankly back. Blinked. "Ah, Kagami-kun."

 _"What kind of a response is that!?"_

Disoriented by all of the things happening around her at once, Hana's orange eyes manage to settle on the basketball the redhead held against his side. And slowly putting one and two together, she realized who he was.

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's a wrap. To anyone still sticking around, I hope to see you in the next one! (=ﾟ▽ﾟ)/


	2. Chapter 2

The classroom was bustling with gaudy jokes and laughter this morning. Ai-chan was celebrating the success of her recent confession amongst her circle of friends, blushing and acting as though everyone was making too much of a fuss. Rei and Tamura-kun, the classroom jokesters, talked busily about their plans to visit the arcade to play the new shooting game after school. Yuki-chan argued with her two friends over whose turn it was to borrow an RPG the trio had apparently bought together. And in the very center of it all was Hana: Who was seated in the eye of this hurricane of hyper teenagers.

 _How can they be so energetic this early in the morning?_ She thought groggily.

Her head was pounding, and she didn't want to open her eyes just yet as she pressed her cheek against the surface of her cool desk. It was all she could do to tolerate the ruckus, as she hunched over her desk and wished that the bell would ring so she could get this day over with. _I'm not the weirdo this time. They are,_ she assured herself. _This isn't how Mondays are supposed to work._

Just as Hana was re-positioning herself in her seat, the chair beside her was pulled out authoritatively and there sat down her best friend, Nozomu Maika. "Good morning, Hana-chan!" she sang.

 _Oh, God. Another one._

Her body leaned eagerly toward the frizzy-haired girl, but Hana refused to pay her any attention. Maika frowned. "What's with the cold shoulder? Had a rough night or something?"

 _"You have no idea,"_ she groaned. She moved her arms so that her best friend could get a good view of her face. Deep gray rings around her curved eyes were proof of a restless night, on top of what was probably a lifetime of restless nights. Fingers pressed at buttons on the phone held in front of Hana's face and she frowned. "Don't take a picture!"

Her friend's short ponytail bounced as she slid out of reach. "Nope, this is going in the HANA folder I have saved on my phone. I can even use this as a reaction picture whenever I'm online."

"I hate you."

Maika smirked before aiming her a concerning look. "No, but seriously, why're you on the edge of death this morning?" she questioned, placing an elbow on the desk. "Don't tell me you got called in to work last night?"

"Nah, that's not it." She sat up in her chair and stretched her arms and legs. The stinging sensation coming from her right ankle prompted a hand to grip her knee. At least it didn't hurt as much when she was sitting down. "But being on the edge of death? You could say that happened last night."

Maika's eyes shot up. "Eh? You're joking."

"No, really. I nearly fell down the stairs last night. Or actually," she paused to dig through the cluttered timeline of events, "Yeah, I definitely fell down the stairs."

 _"WHAT?"_ A girl's voice shot over their heads. Standing behind them was the raven-haired beauty, Makabe Ayumi. Oh, how Hana wished it hadn't been Ayumi. Wide-eyed, and capturing the attention of some classmates (as she always did whenever she entered their classroom), she rushed forward like some delirious housewife. "Are you okay, Hana? I can't believe you actually fell down stairs!"

Her hands spread between them to serve as a sort of force field, but the girl merely reached out and interlaced their fingers. Hana swiveled her gaze away as she could feel people's eyes on her. "I'm fine, Ayumi-chan. It isn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" The ends of her long hair jumped as she huffed. _"But you fell down stairs!"_

"Yeah." Maika agreed as she adjusted her glasses. "How many steps we talking?"

She keeps her head down as she starts to hear the hushed whispering of the people around them, wondering what the sudden commotion was all about. Her face feels warm. Her neck feels oddly naked. This wasn't how Mondays were supposed to work. "Maybe nine or ten steps...? But I'm completely fine, okay? Not a scratch on me, see?" She pulled her hands away and flapped them like some wannabe bird. That seemed to satisfy the crowd that had looked their way, as she heard a few giggles and quickly dropped her arms. I'm so stupid.

Both Ayumi and Maika still looked doubtful, so Hana went a step further. "It was really scary, but two guys just happened to be there when I slipped, and they managed to save me, so-"

Ayumi gasped and hit her shoulder practically screaming, "Ohmygoshareyouserious!? _Two guys?_ SHUT UP!" Ayumi liked to hit and yell, and it was so embarrassing.

"W-well, the second guy showed up a little afterward..."

"But there were two of them, right?" Maika questioned. Even she was starting to look a little excited. And frankly, it was Maika's reaction that was more concerning than Ayumi's. "Were they together? If it was next to the convenience store than were they leaving together? _Buying a meal for two maybe!?"_

"What the heck are you asking, Maika-chan!?" Ayumi snapped.

"What am _I_ asking? What are _you_ asking?" she told her, fixing her glasses.

"Are you crazy? Stop involving your delusions and let Hana continue!"

 _"Delusions?_ For all you know, they could've decided to take a romantic stroll to the store to do their grocery shopping, and they'd hold hands whenever they were sure no one was watching, and-"

"Who cares about that!?" Ayumi turned to the disoriented girl between them and smirked. "I wanna know if they were hot!"

The hearts in Maika's eyes were replaced by stars. "Oooh! Me too me too! I wanna know too!"

A sound that indicated distress came from her mouth, but neither of the girls were listening now as they inched closer. This morning was turning out to be a bigger nightmare than last night. _Escape. I need to escape._

Hana grinned at them in the way that meant she wasn't happy. "I-I'm going to go to the bathroom." With the both of them blocking her right side, she tried to push her chair back and make a quick exit on her left. But the side of her head smacked into a wall, and she was trapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry," someone said. Hana spun around in her chair so fast, she nearly headbutted Maika in the face.

Uniform. He was wearing the school uniform. So the guy who'd saved her last night was a student at this school... And here she'd been hoping last night's excitement had all been a dream. She tried her hardest not to pull a face as she started to remember yesterday for the millionth time; then shifted her focus to Maika and Ayumi, who'd grown silent behind her. Both were looking at the boy with an expression as startled as her own.

Good, they could see him too.

He stood there quietly. His blue eyes, she realized, on her. Waiting. _"Ah! I-ip'snoproblem."_ _What the heck's coming out of my mouth?_

He blinks slowly.

Hana holds her breath and internally screams.

"Did I interrupt something?" he asks the group.

The three girls shake their heads.

 _His name. What was his name again?_

His eyebrows knit slightly. So slightly. "I see. Well, as long as you're okay, Iwasaki-san. I'll be going to my seat then." Like a laser is to felines, the three girls' eyes remained glued to him as he excused himself and walked away.

The duo behind Hana exploded as soon as they were sure he was out of range. _**"EEEEHHHH!?"**_

" _Shu-shut up_ , or he'll hear you!" Hana whispered.

Maika's eyes were bugging out as she pulled her close. _"What was that all about?"_

Ayumi crouched down beside them. "That was so intense I thought I was gonna die!"

"He just appeared from out of nowhere," Maika continued. "I thought I was gonna get a heart attack."

"Yeah yeah," Ayumi agreed. "I don't remember seeing anyone like that before. What class is he from?"

"Uh..." Hana's head turned slightly to follow the direction the boy had gone, and they followed her gaze as they looked toward the very back row of the classroom. He was there, sitting by the window and silently removing his books from his school bag.

 _"He was there the whole ti-!?"_ Ayumi exclaimed. Both Maika and Hana's hands clamped over her mouth before she could finish. They looked at each other like they'd just seen a ghost.

"I... I've never noticed him before either," Maika admitted. For some reason, she looked the most stunned out of the three of them. She started muttering something under her breath, but Hana couldn't make out the words.

"Oh! Was he one of the guys who saved you last night?" Before Hana could answer Ayumi's question, the school bell rang, and students started shuffling toward their seats. Ayumi gave her farewells as she quickly headed out the door and toward her own classroom. She'd be back for lunch anyways.

Knowing he was there made it difficult for Hana to face forward. _A classmate? He's a freakin classmate?_

 *****Rewind to Last Night*****

There's a lump in her throat, but she still tries to swallow. Her eardrums are still pulsing _whomp, whomp, whomp_ in her head. And even though her eyes are wide open; fixed on the stranger she'd watched from her window for the past two months- that same, numbing sensation continued to distract her above all else. Her bottom was cold. Uncomfortably so. She's sitting on the pavement at the foot of the stairs.

Then there's the stranger. He's standing right in front of her, carrying his basketball and wearing the same clothes she'd seen him wearing earlier that same day. But somewhere in the back of her head, she still can't believe it's him.

"...and?"

 _Huh?_

"Can you stand?" The boy beside her had his hand reached out to her. He's standing now, having risen to his feet while she'd been distracted by his friend. The knees of his jeans are a bit faded. The result of their fall? Otherwise, he appeared to be completely fine.

How shameless. She hadn't been listening to her savior at all.

As out of it as she was, Hana could still feel a smidgen of guilt as she silently takes his hand. Her legs are shaking, but she tries not to think about it as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. That was when she felt the pain in her right ankle. She exhales sharply, and the boy places his other hand beneath her elbow to lift her up. Neither of them says a word.

"Looks like your ice cream didn't make it." The ginger beside them laughed, startling them both.

On the ground was the ice cream cone the boy had purchased earlier: Now a sorrowful, half-melted puddle of what could've been. Red got a real kick out of that.

Her savior frowns. "Kagami-kun, it isn't funny."

"But you were in such a hurry to buy it too!"

Hana watched as he continued to laugh. It felt odd being able to hear his voice. To see him from up close. She'd only ever watched him from afar, so it felt almost... unnatural to her. He wasn't as tall as she'd originally imagined either. Maybe around the same height as her cousin? But more strange than that was the fact that she could feel her heartbeat calming. The air even felt cooler now flowing into her lungs. It was the exact opposite of when she'd been confronted by Inohara. She didn't feel as flustered as she did then.

"I- I can buy you another one," Hana spoke for the first time. She was looking at the person named Kagami when she said it. He stopped laughing.

It felt like this was the first time he had noticed her.

"It's fine." Her savior says from somewhere on the steps. She stiffens. When she wasn't facing him, the boy barely had any presence at all. Looking behind her, she sees that he's retrieving her shoe. "You don't have to worry about it."

Her hand was already digging into her pants pocket. "N-no!" she insisted. "It's my fault this happened, so let me- _wah?"_ As if to object, a handful of change tumbled out and noisily scattered around her feet. Okay, now she felt flustered.

Cursing, she got back on her knees and tried to gather them up. She was missing one of her shoes, had spilled her bento onto the staircase, and even caused a stranger to abandon his ice cream to save her. She grips the ankle that continued to pulsate beneath her and frowns. If things got any worse she'd probably end up crying for real this time.

The lump in her throat from earlier returned as she counted the coins she'd collected in her hand. If she looked up right now, would they be making the same face Inohara had made before she'd left?

"Don't scream," somebody warned. Hana nearly reacted the same way she had in the convenience store, but this time, she didn't look away. He was crouching in front of her, one arm stretched out, and his other shielding his face. His eyes were shut tight. If she had to describe it, it looked like he was being forced to feed a wild animal and was expecting his hand to get torn off in the process. Hana didn't know if she should be offended or flat out embarrassed. If he was the same guy who'd given her the onigiri from earlier, than she must've given him quite the scare. What a wonderful first impression.

She hadn't expected him to help pick up the coins she'd dropped either. When he opened one eye and saw that she was calm, he sighs and gently drops them into her palm.

"Thank you," she tells him.

He lowers his other arm. "No problem," he says. For someone so big and wild looking, he was pretty cautious, she thought. They stay like that for a few seconds longer. When Hana tilts her head to the right, expecting more, he turns his gaze toward something looming ahead, then back at her. He tries to speak, but the words catch in the back of his throat.

"I've gathered your things, Iwasaki-san."

Hana and Kagami both jolted. _**My God, that's a scary ability.**_

Heart rate sputtering, the handful of coins is pushed in her savior's direction. She sees him look down at her hand, and she bites her lip, swallows her tongue. "Accept it, please."

Hana doesn't know what he's thinking, but he looks reluctant.

"Just take it already," Kagami scoffs as he gets back on his feet. "You're just gonna sulk about it later, anyways."

He looks at his friend like he's saying something ridiculous and his brow pinches.

So he can make an expression like that too.

"You know it's true," Kagami tells him.

When he reaches down and quietly accepts her pocket change, relief sweeps over her. Kagami must've noticed this too because he grins and smacks him in the back.

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Please stop."

Hana dusts off her knees as she tries to stand and is shocked when a large hand grabs her arm and pulls her up. She opens her mouth to speak, but he's already walking off. "Glad that's settled. Seeya."

The boy sighs at his friend's retreating back. "Honestly..." He turns to Hana. "Will you be all right on your own?"

He wasn't going to offer to walk her up the stairs like some granny, was he?

"Yeah," she speaks to his shoes and feels her face flush.

He gently places her purse and shoe into her arms before giving a curt nod. "Please be more careful going up the steps, Iwasaki-san. Good night."

Hana watched as both males walked away.

Only after she'd turned toward the stairs, did she notice the bento she'd spilled had disappeared. It had been tossed into a trash can beneath the staircase. And on the fifth step where her shoe had been, the money for another meal had been left behind. Her mouth fell open a little in surprise.

She looks down the sidewalk again, but they're gone. Too embarrassed to go back into the convenience store, she settled for the onigiri the boy had placed into her shoe for dinner instead.

 *****Back in the Present*****

 _I never thanked him._ Hana realized in horror.

Paid him back for the ice cream, sure. But vocally express her thanks for saving her?Nope.

She'd been so distracted by Kagami, too.

 _Kagami-kun!_

Her whole body stiffened in her chair. So if the two of them were hanging out together, then the possibility of him also being a student here was more than likely...?

 _Did she dare look over her shoulder?_

The lunch bell rang and Hana was instantly on her feet. She grabbed Maika's wrist and dragged her out of her desk without warning. "Bread today." _Avoid looking at the far right corner of the room. Avoid at all costs!_

 _"You didn't bring your lunch?"_ Maika asked incredulously.

Hana tugged. "No. Hurry up!"

"All right all right!"

* * *

Poor Maika was in front of her, rolling her shoulders with a pained expression on her face. "What's up with you? You almost dislocated my arm!"

"Sorry," Hana said simply. After buying the bread, she'd managed to get them out of the main building and into the courtyard. She'd been so quick about it, that she hadn't had time to think. Why had she done that?

"Why?" her voice echoed. She jumped and realized that the question had come from Maika. She narrowed her eyes at her. "Why're you being all jumpy?"

Hana gripped the bread she held in both hands a little tighter, the plastic crinkling loudly as she did so. She didn't know what to say under her friend's sharp gaze.

The brunette sighed, and sat beside her on the bench. Hana was expecting an interrogation, but her friend started unwrapping the food she'd barely had time to choose and pouted. "You're acting weird," she said, before taking a bite of her lunch. Her brown eyes stared back at Hana's orange ones. She swallowed. "Since this morning. I bet it has something to do with that guy, right?"

Her eyes widened, and Maika leaned toward her. Jackpot.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"N-no."

"Just spit it out already. There's no use hiding it." Maika took another bite and spoke as she chewed, "It's so obvious you're trying to avoid him."

Hana wanted to shake her head but burrowed her face in her hands instead. Her best friend could read her like an open book.

She could hear her chuckling beside her. "I wonder what he was thinking when he saw you run away."

Hana's hands slid off her face. _"You think he could tell?"_

"Tell what, exactly...?" Maika began, but then her voice trailed off as the smirk formed on her lips. Hana gulped.

Giving in, she began to tell her about how horrid her day had been since visiting the animal shelter. She told her about the witch that was Inohara and their first interaction since graduating from junior high. She also mentioned the rude kid who'd glared daggers at her in front of the display, and how disappointed she was with not being able to pet Marmalade. Admitting that she'd hesitated when being asked if she'd adopt the cat made her throat feel a little raw, and her eyes burned as she skipped ahead to the encounter in the convenience store. She'd been so fed up with her day, that she'd actually screamed in someone's face when they'd only been trying to help, and then ran off like a maniac, only to trip rushing up the steps and almost breaking her neck. As Maika quietly listened and ate, Hana concluded with: "I couldn't even sleep the rest of the night! I just kept thinking about them. _All of them._ And how stupidly I'd acted! And when it was time for school, I was too tired to make my own lunch and was a total zombie on the way here. People were even staring, and it was awful!"

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you always look like a zombie."

 _"Maika!"_

"I'm joking! Dark circles under your eyes do not a zombie make."

Hana slumped back against the bench and gives an exaggerated sigh. "When I saw him in the classroom this morning, I thought I was going crazy," Hana admitted. Maika frowns as she angles her head. "But I couldn't even thank him... He looked like he was expecting it."

"You should tell him," Maika said simply. Hana was half expecting her to grin her way, and tease her about how boy-crazy she'd become overnight. But when Hana looked up at her with the bread halfway to her mouth, Maika was staring at the wrapper in her hands with a solemn expression. "Now that you mention it, I think he might've wanted to talk to you this morning."

 _"Eh!?"_

"He could've gone straight to his desk from the class entrance, but he didn't," she pointed out. "Instead, he was in the center of the room next to your desk."

Hana's stomach lurched.

Maika continued, "He's a nice- I mean, _I think_ he's a nice guy. So he probably just wanted to check up on you. Talk to him later and thank him for the money, too, okay?" The smile returned to her face when she saw how stunned Hana was at this revelation. "You should talk to that Kagami guy, too."

Hana nearly dropped her bread. "What? _Why?"_

She shrugged. "It sounds like he had something to say to you. Probably just wanted to apologize for freaking you out, so you should find him. In fact, ask the other guy where you can find him, and use this opportunity to get to know him since you seemed so _infatuated_ with him last night."

She regretted telling her about it already. "If you tell Ayumi about that, I'll kill you," Hana threatened.

Maika let out a gleeful laugh before sipping from her juice box. "Speaking of Ayumi- She's going to be _pissed_ when she finds out you ditched her."

"No. _We_ ditched her," Hana corrected. The best friends exchanged a look before continuing to eat their lunch. Even though Ayumi acted overly familiar with Hana and insisted they were good friends, everything was honestly just a big facade. After having flunked the year before, Ayumi had no other choice but to repeat the grade alongside the freshmen class, and on the first day of school, it was Maika who'd invited her into their two-person group on her own. She was clingy and loud, and Maika could instantly tell that Hana didn't want anything to do with her. When confronted about it, all Hana could say was that Ayumi reminded her too much of the girls from junior high... It hadn't been enough to keep her away though.

And little did Maika know that Hana and Ayumi were already previously acquainted, and Hana uses that term loosely. The fact she'd reappeared in Hana's life after a certain incident years ago didn't make her feel any more welcoming either. That was a story that even Hana hoped to never bring up with her best friend, and it was the only thing she and Ayumi seemed to be on the same page about.

"Oh, and about that Inohara girl," Maika spoke up.

Startled, Hana sits up straight and clutches her bread in a death grip. "Y-yeah?"

"I'm going with you today. So you'd better be prepared to hold me back," she warns, grinning mischievously as she cracks her knuckles. "Because frankly, I don't know _what_ I might do."

Hana smiles despite herself. "Are you crazy?"

"You think I'm joking but I'm not. That bitch is gonna have another thing coming if she thinks she can act like that while I'm around. There's no way I'm letting you face her alone."

"But I'm not even sure if she'll be there today."

"Well, she better be. After all that talk I'd be surprised if she didn't show."

Hana laughs and wraps her arms around her friend's shoulders. "You're a lifesaver, Maika!"

Maika simply pats her friend's head. "Tell me something I don't know."

* * *

"So who's cuter? Kagami-kun or ghost boy?"

"Who?"

"Ghost boy! You know, that guy who appeared out of thin air this morning."

"Uh, I don't know..."

"It's Kagami-kun, right?"

Hana raised an eyebrow. "But you haven't even seen him."

"Don't have to. If ghost boy wasn't memorable in the slightest, then I figure Kagami-kun couldn't possibly be any worse."

"You're awful," she says as she tosses her trash away. Lunch time was almost over, so the two of them were already on their way back to class.

"I think you mean, honest," Maika corrected. Suddenly, a grin spreads across her face."I bet he's _super_ tall and handsome~"

Hana rolls her eyes and continues ahead.

"Don't ignore me! What's wrong, did your heart suddenly go _doki doki_ again after remembering him?"

"No," Hana answered quickly.

Maika looked pleased. "Oooh! It did!"

 _Here she goes again..._

"Can you please not? I don't even know him and you want me to think about him that way?"

 _"In_ _ **what**_ _way?"_ Maika growled. Hana was sure she'd see her food again in a second if she didn't change the subject soon.

"In _the way_ that you're thinking right now."

"Oh come on, Hana, you never wanna talk about guys. _ **I**_ _wanna talk about guys!"_

 _Then go to Ayumi_. _You always go to her for stuff like this._

The two girls rounded a corner, and Hana ducked her head as they passed a group of people in the hallway. If Kagami really was a student at this school, then the possibility of him eavesdropping on their conversation was something that could really happen. She'd rather die.

Maika went on anyway; grumbling about how she wanted more details about Kagami and demanding why she didn't want to talk to her about him. Losing her last shred of patience, Hana snapped. "Could you just drop it already?" When there was no reply, Hana wondered if her friend had given up, but found her standing a few feet behind her, smiling nervously. Hana looked ahead of her to see what was up, and nearly walked into the beautiful girl that was glaring at them. "A-Ayumi-chan?"

"You guys had lunch without me!" Ayumi cried, and her face suddenly fell as she looked like she was about to sob.

Hana's hands flew in front of her, unsure of what to do with them if she suddenly started bawling in the hallway. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, you should be!" She grabbed Hana by the arm to keep her from escaping and pointed accusingly down the hall at Maika. "And you! Where the heck do you think you're going!"

"N-nowhere."

"Maika, you traitor!" Hana exclaimed, as her friend froze mid-step.

"You're the one who dragged me out of the class, to begin with!" she shot back.

When Ayumi slowly turned to look at Hana, she swore she saw lightning flash behind her. "So it was you?"

"I, ugh-"

"She wanted to talk about the hottie that helped her out yesterday," Maika interjected, approaching them now. She knew exactly how to calm Ayumi down, and Hana didn't like it. "And I'm not talking about ghost boy from this morning either," she added with a wink.

"Guy #2?" Ayumi's eyes whipped back to Hana, and she threw their hands apart. _"Without me!?"_

"Maika!"

"So the guy from this morning really did help you, didn't he?" she asked Hana, then looked to Maika for reassurance. The bespectacled girl nodded, and quietly shrugged at Hana's glare. "But the second guy," Ayumi continued, "Is he really that cute, Hana?"

 _"La la la la, I can't hear you!"_ Hana shouted, as she pressed her hands to her ears and started rushing down the hallway. Like hell, she was having this conversation.

"That's so unfair!" Ayumi cried, causing a group of boys to stop and stare as she followed behind her. Hana's face flushed. "Why does Maika get to know? I want to know about it too!"

"I said to stop!"

"Just tell her, Hana."

"Not here!"

 _"Why~?"_ Ayumi whined.

 _Do I have to spell it out for you? It has nothing to do with you!_

With a defiant breath, she stops. She twists her body around to face them, but finds that her attention locks on something in her peripheral vision. She's standing in front of the entrance to Class 1-B, and she sees the red hair through the opened doorway. He's sitting there, with a stack of empty bread wrappers piled high on his desk, wearing the male uniform, and looking as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. Hana rushes away from the doorway as her heart beats hurriedly in her chest.

It feels like forever until someone speaks again.

"What? What is it?" Maika asks her.

Hana grabs her arm before she can lean forward to look. "It's him," she mouthed. "It's, Kagami-kun."

"Here?" Maika asks. She looks at Hana like she's finally lost it and peers through the doorway. Her own eyes widen when she immediately spots him."No way. He really is kind of cute."

"CUTE? WHO'S CUTE?" Ayumi asked in a cheer captain boom. She pushes against the both of them to get a better view but ends up knocking them off balance. The three of them collapse in front of the doorway with a loud _BANG._

"You idiot! Look at what you've done," Maika shouts.

Ayumi ignored her as she sat up and shook Hana's shoulder. "Oh no. Are you okay?"

Hana squeezed her right ankle again as it began to pulse. "Y-yeah, I'm good." She looked back between Ayumi and Maika before remembering where they were. Her head whipped around when she felt his eyes on her. His body was turned in their direction now, having been shocked by the noise of their fall. Some of the other people who had been having their lunch in the classroom were also looking their way.

All of their looks burn, everything and everywhere.

She wanted to turn away from him, to simply ignore his gaze. At that point, though, they were already making eye contact with each other. Plus, it was so obvious that she knew who he was, so who was she trying to fool?

He narrowed his eyes at her, the light bulb not appearing to turn on until a few seconds later. "Ah! It's you!" he blurted.

"Wow, is that him!?" Ayumi exclaimed, leaning against Hana's back. "You were right, he _is_ cute!"

Hana's face burned red as Kagami stared back at them, trying to process what he thinks he's heard. The only thing that made things worse was when Hana noticed the blue-haired boy seated directly behind Kagami.

His blank expression was going to haunt her for the rest of the day.

Ayumi only continued to beam.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reading this chapter always makes me feel so evil for putting Hana threw all this ^^;; A lot of new dialogue's been added and changed after re-editing, and is more to my liking~ Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Hana's pencil was on fire as she jotted down the equations on the board into her notebook. In an hour, the school day will end and she'll be able to see Marmalade. As the sparks flew off the page, she continued to remind herself of this fact. Again and again, until her head was filled with math and orange tabby cats. Yes, that's all that she had to think about. All that mattered.

She had to get back to her now and show Marmalade that she'd kept her word.

To apologize to her. To see her.

She can't do either because she's stuck in class feeling eyes burying into the back of her head.

"Hana?"

Her leg doesn't stop shaking as her head snaps up to look at Maika. "Is he looking at me?" That's not the first question Hana wanted to ask her, but it escaped her lips before she could even think about it.

Maika's looking at her with a _Seriously? Again?_ sorta gesture.

Hana puckers her bottom lip and nods. _Please? Please, just check?_

Maika lets out a small breath before leaning back in her chair and stretches, sneaking a glance behind them. Hana's pencil floats over her notebook as she stares blankly at the board ahead. "He isn't," she whispers.

Her pencil drops back onto her paper and she continues her note-taking. _Than why is this feeling not going away?_ Hana's leg continues to bounce rhythmically to the seconds ticking by. _He's looking. I know he is,_ she insists. _Why wouldn't he be? Why wouldn't he after something like that? Like..._ that?

Her hand presses against the side of her face as she watches the teacher explain a problem. Hopefully, it'd be enough to cover the blush on her cheeks from whoever was watching her. For all she knew, the whole class was probably talking about their little show during the last minutes of lunch.

Damn it, Hana had been too stunned by Ayumi's outburst to respond. And Ayumi had bolted as soon as the bell had rung, so she didn't get to take it back either. She'd simply left Hana on the ground with a face resembling a ripe tomato. Left her there with a hurting ankle, and Maika to snap her out of it. As soon as they were up, she'd rushed into the class and slammed into her seat, purposely ignoring Kagami and the mystery boy behind him.

 _That girl and her big mouth. What was she thinking? Did she even think at all?_

Hana's head slumped against her arm. Maybe it was her way of getting back at her?

Since the start of the school year, she's been doing her best to deal with the existence that was, Makabe Ayumi. Being around her brought up bad memories, and she _**knew**_ that Ayumi was aware of this but has yet to show any sign of it. It was like Ayumi was toying with her; seeing how long either of them could last without mentioning the past, before one of them cracked. It made Hana wish that Ayumi hadn't flunked so that they could've stayed in different grades.

"Hey, are you okay?" Maika was asking, signaling her by scrunching her brows and tilting her head. "He's probably forgotten all about it," she added, when Hana frowned back. "You're worrying too much."

Hana's hand gripped her pencil as she leaned forward slightly. "I can't help it, okay? It feels like everyone's looking at me."

"They're not," Maika told her. Bless her soul. "And _he_ isn't either."

"Are you sure?" Hana began, and Maika sighed a deep breath before glancing more boldly this time behind her.

 _Seriously, Maika!?_

"Shit."

"Wha-what is it?" Hana demanded.

"He saw me," she answered, hunching her body over her desk and scribbling nonsense in her notebook. She looks out of the corner of her eyes again, before swiftly facing down at her notes. "Yeah, he's still looking."

Hana tried to write down what the teacher was saying but found that her hand was becoming sluggish. Her face was beginning to warm, and the feeling of being exposed was only growing. Sitting in the very center of the class had never felt more claustrophobic. When she raises her hand, she asks if she can go to the restroom. Her limbs feel heavy when she stands up, and half of the class is facing her as she heads for the back door. She didn't want to look, she definitely didn't. But before she steps outside, her eyes peer in Kagami's direction, and their eyes connect. It was only a brief second. One horrifying, painstaking second. But it was enough to rattle them both as they quickly turned away from each other in shock.

Hana booked it.

* * *

She banged her head against the side of the sink from where she was crouched on the bathroom floor. If anyone walked in on her, then she'd simply pretend she was looking for a contact lens or earring that she didn't own. Till then, she'd simply continue to agonize in the privacy of the girl's room for a few minutes more. _It was practically a confession!_ she internally cried. She slapped the sides of her face and shook her head, fighting back the thoughts that wormed their way in. _He definitely got the wrong idea! I could tell from the way he reacted just now..._

She throws her arms up in frustration.

" _He wouldn't right?_ All she said was that I thought he was cute, but he wouldn't interpret that as a full-on confession, right? A person can call someone cute and not like them at all. I mean, that sort of thing happens all the time-" Hana's hand covered her mouth when she realized she was speaking aloud. All of the stalls were empty- she'd checked them twice- but her voice could still carry into the hallway if she wasn't careful. She stays put for a few seconds as she listens to her own breathing and the dripping of a leaky faucet. To her relief, no one enters the bathroom or emerges from an air vent on the ceiling.

Hana pulls herself up so that she could peek over the counter and look into the mirror. Her face looked even paler from this angle as the lights reflected against the white porcelain sinks. _I never even said that I thought he was cute. Maika's as much to blame for this as Ayumi... I mean, a "hottie"? I didn't even say anything like that._

If Hana had mentioned that she'd been watching Kagami from her window, would she have told Ayumi as well?

"Stop," she orders. She shakes her head and stands up.

 _Maika was only trying to calm Ayumi down. Not that that didn't have it's repercussions, but... Well, we did ditch her... But that was because of me, too._

Playing the blame game was leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

Hana places her hands against the counter and makes a face in the mirror. She manages to grin despite her mood.

 _Damnit, I'm overthinking again. Why do I care about what he thinks, anyway? I'll just clear up the misunderstanding, apologize for flipping out last night, and then thank the other guy for helping me. Done and done. It isn't like I'll have to talk to him again. We'll go back to how we were, and I'll have peace of mind._ The edges of her reflection grow fuzzy and she blinks, then looks down at the sink. She'll be able to watch him play basketball from her window like nothing had happened. So than why? Why did her chest feel so heavy just thinking about it?

A buzzing emanates from somewhere at her waist, and she jolts. Holy crap, it was her phone. Her hands pull the device out of the pocket of her blue cardigan, cursing when it continued to vibrate. Someone was calling her? Hana examines the caller ID and raises an eyebrow. She presses it against her ear and answers, "Hello?"

 _"Iwasaki-chan?"_ came her coworker's voice over the phone. This was the first time the older woman had ever called her.

"Um, Nishimura-san? Is something the matter?"

 _"I'm sorry, is this a bad time? You're in school, right?"_

Hana rested her hip against the counter. "It's okay. I'm actually on break right now," she lied. Well, it was partly true... "What's up?"

 _"I'm so sorry to call you like this, but there wasn't anyone else whom I could ask,"_ she says, her voice shaking toward the end.

"It's okay," she says instinctively.

Hana's ear tingles as she hears Nishimura-san sigh. The poor woman sounded worn out. " _You see, my daughter was sent home from school today because of the flu, and her father's away on a business trip, so there won't be anyone home to take care of her. I managed to get a few days off from work, but I'll need someone to cover my shift, and well... I've called Minagawa-kun and Suzu-chan, but I forgot that Minagawa-kun has his second job today. And Suzu-chan's in the middle of a big project for her class."_

Hana heard the desperation in the mother's voice, and could already see herself agreeing to her request. The only thing stopping her was the cat flashing in her mind's eye. "You need someone for today and tomorrow?" Hana asks.

 _"Yes, I do. I'd understand if you couldn't though,"_ she starts _. "After all, you'd be working on your days off. And you're also a student, so you probably have enough on your shoulders already."_

It was true that Mondays and Tuesdays were her days off. And yeah, she did have a bit of homework to do when she got home, but it wasn't really anything that Hana couldn't handle. She'd always managed to finish her assignments from school, even when working four days of the week. But one of the reasons why Hana had chosen this schedule, was because of how tired she'd be after pulling a late shift Saturday evenings. Even now, her body was still feeling a little weary, and more so with all the drama since this morning.

Then there was Marmalade.

Hana began to feel an awful pressure in her chest again, and she bit her lip. _You told Inohara that you'd be back today. You told Marmalade that you would, remember?_

 _But this is somebody's child that we're talking about here. She can't help it if her kid suddenly gets sick._

 _You'd already made up your mind before getting this call. And she said it was okay if you couldn't do it, so say no._

 _But Marmalade is going to be fine even if you don't go. You've experienced this yourself, so you should know how lonely it feels when you're sick and no one's around to take care of you._

 _But you promised! Would you really be able to show your face again after breaking that promise? What would Inohara think?_

 _You don't know the first thing about taking care of a cat. You haven't even bought her a bowl or a place to sleep. You're not experienced in taking care of pets, so how can you be so sure she'll want to stick around?_

"I don't," she mumbles, in response to her inner monologue. These were all good points, and Hana wished that she'd addressed them sooner, instead of blatantly avoiding them till now. At this very moment.

 _"Iwasaki-chan...?"_

Her eyes snap open and she sees her hand gripping the hem of her sweater. Somewhere below her, her ankle is throbbing again. There's a slight ringing in her ears when she speaks. "Y-yeah, I'm here."

 _"It's okay if you can't, Iwasa-"_

"I can do it," Hana tells her. Now there was no going back.

 _"Really?"_ she asks. She sounds uncertain and happy at the same time.

 _I'm not prepared to take Marmalade home yet,_ Hana realizes. _I was making half-hearted decisions to begin with... Suddenly telling Inohara I'd adopt Marmalade after being cornered like that. It was all in the spur of the moment. All because she'd provoked me._

"Yeah, I can go." She assures her. She'd go back for Marmalade when she was ready. "What time is your shift?"

 _"It begins at 4 and ends tonight at 8."_ So she had an hour after school, and four on the job. _"Are you sure about this? I didn't pressure you, did I?"_

Hana smiles weakly as she shakes her head. "No, it's okay. I'm free anyways, so it isn't a big deal. You should be with your daughter instead of stressing about it at work."

 _"Oh, Iwasaki! Thank you so much! I owe you big time for this!"_

"It's no problem. Is the schedule the same for tomorrow?"

 _"Yes, it is. Um, I have to get back to her now, but I'll let the manager know right away. If you'll excuse me."_

"Yeah, okay. I hope she gets better soon."

When Nishimura-san hangs up, Hana's hand falls against the counter. She'd done a good thing, she tells herself. Any parent would've been desperate for help in that situation. Plus, she'd saved a little girl from being alone during this sensitive time. Marmalade will still be there. She's seen the level of patience the shelter has for the mischievous cat, so she was obviously in good hands. What difference would a day or two make?

Hana put her phone away and exited the girls' room while the words that Inohara had told her echoed in her head.

 _Knowing you, you'd probably have a tough time keeping up with her and end up_ _ **losing**_ _her._

No, Hana thought. She'd make sure that wouldn't happen ever again.

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?" Maika whispered once Hana had settled back into her seat. She'd been hoping to sneak back into the class more discreetly, but one glance at the clock and she knew that that wasn't going to happen. Last period was almost over, so why had she even bothered to return at all?

Hana didn't want to worry about what her classmates were thinking. She was too emotionally drained to care. "Yeah, why?"

"Well you were gone for a long time. I was beginning to think you were having a breakdown or something."

Did she really come off as that weak?

Hana grabbed the pencil she'd left on her desk, and turned to a blank page. "Could you let me borrow your notes later, Maika?"

"Huh? Uh, sure."

Hana aimed her a small smile. "I'll tell you about it after school," she told her and went back to copying whatever was on the board.

* * *

 _"No, Marmalade?"_

"No. No, Marmalade," Hana repeated as she and Maika headed down the stairs. The words came easier than she would've expected.

"But why? You were so excited!" Maika went on, knitting her brows at Hana's poker-faced expression. Seeing her like this after being on edge all day, was too suspicious for her to accept so suddenly. She waited for some sort of reaction from her, then frowned. "You're too nice, Hana."

"You think so?"

"You should've told her you were busy. I mean, you were going to get Marmalade, so it wasn't like you'd be lying." Glancing at her friend, Hana figured Maika's irritable attitude was partly due to something else.

"You really wanted to meet Inohara, huh?" Hana guessed.

"What? _Nooo!_ "she cries back unconvincingly. She adjusts her glasses as she faces ahead, and they approach their lockers. "I mean, don't get me wrong. It's true that I wouldn't have minded bopping her once in the face," she murmured, slipping on her shoes and then turning to Hana who was doing the same.

"You'd send her to the hospital," Hana said skeptically. Though a part of her didn't doubt that Maika could cause some serious damage. The girl had taken martial arts as a child and always made time to exercise in her spare time. Compared to Hana's noodle arms, Maika was a lean mean fighting machine.

Managing what she could make of a modest smile, Maika shut her locker and they headed for the exit. "Fine. I'll be nice and call an ambulance if that makes you feel better. But you seemed genuinely happy about it. Going to get Marmalade, I mean. Are you sure this isn't because of that Inohara chick?" Maika asks suspiciously.

The question brought the frown back to her lips. "No, Inohara doesn't have anything to do with this. I wouldn't change my mind because of someone like her," she insisted. Though she hated to admit she sounded more wistful than convinced that it was true. "I'm not making excuses, okay? Marmalade isn't going anywhere, anyway."

"Do you really believe that?" She asks. And suddenly, Maika was in front of her and forcing her to a halt at the school gates. A few people glanced their way, but Maika stood firm as they walked past. She always appreciated her concern, but not if it involved second-guessing herself. Hana did more than enough of that for the both of them.

What was done, was done.

"I do," she finally responds.

To her relief, Maika seems to accept her answer. She wasn't happy about it, though. "Ah, geez. Fine, but only if you're sure."

Hana smiles once again and prepares to say goodbye. Then, _she_ showed up.

"Hana! Maika!" Ayumi's hurrying toward the both of them with her hand in the air, and her school bag bouncing wildly against her hip. Hana turned to Maika with a dispirited look on her face, and thankfully, her best friend got the memo.

As soon as she was within reach, Maika hooked an arm around Ayumi's shoulders, whirled her around, and began to guide her back from where she came. "Let's go, Ayumi-chan. Hana's gotta go get ready for work."

" _Eh!?_ But today's her day off, isn't it? I thought you guys were going to go somewhere without me again, so I came running the minute I saw you."

"We were gonna go see Marmalade at the animal shelter, but Hana ended up agreeing to take a coworker's shift."

"Marmalade...?"

Hana's jaw dropped _. "Maika!"_

The brunette aimed her a look and shrugged. She must've been _really_ disappointed about not going today. "Just telling her is faster," she said briskly. "And it saves us a load of time. Besides, don't you have to go to your club?" she's asking Ayumi now.

"Weren't you going to ditch yours, too?" Ayumi throws back.

Hana watched as both girls went back and forth, until their voices could no longer be heard and they'd disappeared into the school building. The next time she saw Ayumi, Hana realized, she'd probably know more about Marmalade than Hana wanted her to.

* * *

Maika was becoming more relaxed around Ayumi. More friendly.

 _And I guess there's nothing wrong with that._

Except everything.

What was the point of avoiding Ayumi at lunch to talk, if she was just going to tell her everything anyway? Hana wondered. She seemed to genuinely like talking with Ayumi and hanging out with her. Despite telling her upfront that she didn't like her, it hadn't made Maika budge at all. Was she just over it? Was she getting sick of her and looking to replace her? Why did Maika always insist Hana and Ayumi get along?

And did Ayumi genuinely believe that they were friends?

No. Hana had known all along what kind of person she was. Someone like her could do whatever she wanted, and somehow, not feel guilty about it. She had to be playing dumb. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Hana couldn't just forgive her because she was acting all buddy-buddy with her now. And she couldn't understand why Ayumi would want to become her friend either.

 _"Earth to, Hana!"_

"E-eh?" A brief look of confusion sprays across Hana's face as she's forced to look at the short brunette standing beside her.

"You shouldn't daydream while on the job," she chastised. It was Ami, her partner for the evening while manning the cash registers. Standing at around 4 feet and 9 inches, the tiny woman adjusts her ponytail as she slowly shakes her head. "And stop frowning already. What if your face gets stuck that way?"

"It won't," Hana replies, and quickly pastes on a smile. Ami was a student at the local university, and worked at the restaurant 6 days a week. On her regular schedule, she and Hana worked together on 4 of those days; even choosing to do overtime whenever the restaurant was short staffed. No pun intended.

"Yeah, well, I know you're tired, but try to keep it up for a little while longer." Ami pressed a few buttons and the register's screen came to life. "You've got twelve minutes left, kid. You can make it."

Hana nods and takes a deep breath. She liked routine. She craved normal. On top of everything else that had happened today, the past few hours at work had actually been the most relaxing.

She'd breezed through most of her homework in the hour of free time she had after school, and was able to eat a sandwich on her way to work. Aside from the slight pain from her ankle, she was generally fine. _The day's gonna end on a good note, so let's keep staying positive,_ she assured herself. _It'll be 8 O'clock soon, so keep smiling till then._

The sixteen-year-old continued to pump herself up as Ami dealt with a customer besides her, receiving a few quiet chuckles and an awkward gaze from them both. "I'll get to use that new shampoo I bought the other day, too," Hana went on. "And it's still early, so I can take longer in the bath."

"Sorry to interrupt your plans," Ami chimed in, "but I'm gonna go get more ketchup packets, so handle things for me."

She nods. "Ugh, yeah." Shoot, she'd spoken aloud again. Walking over to the cash register, she presses a finger to the screen and waits for the electronic beep. Maybe it was because her shift was about to end, but Hana felt a sudden surge of energy as her foot tapped impatiently at the floor. She really did want to go home right now.

"Um, excuse me."

Hana jumped before swiftly raising her lips in a curt grin, and looked up. "Yes? Are you ready to order?" When she realizes she's speaking to someone's torso, she's forced to look even higher. And when she sees his face, her heart takes a massive gallop. Kagami, with his dark red eyes, are looking straight at her. His mouth slightly ajar from the gasp he'd released a second ago. Oh crud.

"Iwasaki-san?" asked the boy that suddenly materialized in front of her. Hana nearly screamed. So her savior was here as well. "You work here?"

"Um, yeah," she replies, furrowing her brow as she tried to remember her savior's name. Still no dice. "Uh, um. So... you guys come here often?" She asked for some crazy reason. The both of them were still wearing their uniforms and carried their school bags, so they'd probably come straight from school. Club activities, perhaps? Hana glanced back and forth between both males, and was slightly taken aback by their height differences, which were clear to see now that they stood side by side.

"Usually right after practice," the blue-haired boy told her. His voice was flat and calm as he spoke. As if speaking to her was an everyday occurrence.

"Oh, I see." The three of them stood there for a few awkward seconds in silence. She should've followed up by asking more questions, but she'd missed the right timing and they were back to staring at each other again. Any more of this and Hana's heart was going to burrow straight out of her chest. She places her finger over the screen and breaks the silence. "Well, have you both decided what you're going to order?" Kagami's brow flinches when she sweeps her gaze up at him again.

"I'll have a vanilla shake," said her savior first.

"What size?"

"Medium, please."

"And you, Kagami-kun?" His eyes widen, surprised that she'd referred to him by name. Hana felt the heat rise to her face when she became aware of it a second later.

"Ugh, I'll get 18 Maji burgers," he says finally.

Hana practically choked. _F-for real!?_

"And a large Cola... please."

Shocked, Hana types their order into the computer and waits for the total to pop up. After they pay, she tells them that their food will arrive shortly, and the two of them quietly go off to find an unoccupied table. She grabs the nearest medium cup and runs it under the machine as she gets started on the vanilla shake. What the heck was going on? Did the universe enjoy putting her in these awkward situations? Was she a magnet for them?

 _"Hana-chaaan!"_

 _My God, she really was._

Ayumi walks through the entrance of the store and waves at her. Why this was happening to her, Hana no longer had any idea. "A-Ayumi-chan?" she asks, with a smile that reeked of false pleasantness. "What are you doing here?"

She wasn't in her uniform, so club activities must've ended a while ago for her. "I came to visit you, silly. Surprised?"

Surprised was an understatement. "Y-yeah."

Her hair sways majestically as she approaches the counter and stops with her arms pressed behind her. Her smile falters for a second as she looks at Hana. "I also wanted to apologize for today," Ayumi says. Hana stares without realizing. "I'm sorry. I got excited when I heard that the hottie was in your class, and just shouted without thinking. Sorry, Hana."

"It's okay," she says, surprising herself. Maybe it was because she was tired, or the fact that Ayumi was apologizing that made her feel like she was having an out of body experience.

"Really? Oh good." Ayumi tries to make her laugh sound like a sigh. "Maika was lecturing me the whole time after school, so I tried getting here as soon as I could. I'm glad I made it before your shift ended."

So it was because of Maika? Hana meets eyes with her once again and flashes her perfect politician's smile. "It's no big deal. The whole thing was silly anyway." She gestures to the menu overhead. Might as well take her money. "Since you're here, do you want to order anything?"

"A milkshake, please," she says and points to the one in Hana's hand. "Strawberry would be great!"

 _Ah, that's right, their order must be-_

"Number 88!" Ami shouted, appearing with a tray of Maji burgers and a large Cola in her arms. She gives Hana a look but doesn't say anything in front of Ayumi. "Once you're done ringing this customer up, you're cut for the night, Hana- _chan."_ Hana had forgotten all about it _..._ And she was _pissed._

"Thanks," she murmurs. She glances at the time on the monitor and relief washes over her. It really was 8 O'clock. She passes the vanilla milkshake to Ami as she gets started on Ayumi's. Then her happy rush is completely dashed when she hears the gasp behind her.

 _"Kagami-kun!?"_ Ayumi exclaims in her piercing voice. The male is holding the tray with his order and looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Hana's heart rate starts to elevate. " _Ohmygosh_ , do you remember me from lunch? I was with Hana!" _Don't point at me!_ Hana feels him look at her and she flushes deeper. Damn her for reminding him all these hours later. "My name's, Makabe Ayumi. I'm from Class 1-D!"

"N-nice to meet you," he greets sheepishly.

"Ayumi-chan!" Hana screams. The desperation in her voice is embarrassing, but she slams her milkshake on the counter. "Y-your order is ready."

"Oh, okay." As Ayumi pays for her milkshake, Kagami silently backs away and hurries to his seat. _Good, escape. Go while you still can._

"He left?" Ayumi asks, frowning as she looks behind her. When she walks toward the direction he'd gone, she spots him and rushes over. "Kagami-kuuun!"

"Ayumi, wait," she shouts. She tries to speak but just spews out nonsense that might resemble words in some other universe. What did she do to deserve this?

"Hana, I thought I said you could head home?" Ami asks. "Was that a friend?"

Hana sucks in a frustrated breath and runs toward the back. _"No freakin way!"_

* * *

Hana's still buttoning her shirt when she's back in the lobby, looking panicky as ever. But it's soon replaced by a look of shock when she notices Ayumi rising from Kagami and her savior's table, excusing herself. Her face lights up when she notices Hana by the entrance and approaches her. "Let me walk you out, Hana-chan~!" She waves to them one more time before tugging her by the arm and leads her out of the restaurant. "You'll never believe what happened!"

Since this was Ayumi, Hana would probably believe everything she said. It frightened the hell out of her. "Wh-what happened?" she murmured.

She made a triumphant smile as they stopped outside of the restaurant, then flashed a peace sign with her fingers. "I got Kagami-kun's phone number!"

"No way," tumbled out of her mouth.

Ayumi nods as she reaches for her phone, obviously quite pleased with herself. "I sure did! And _ohmygosh_ , did you see how much he ordered? Kagami-kun sure eats a ton! But I guess anyone would be starving after coming from basketball practice this late. Apparently Maji Burger is his go-to spot after practice. You've never seen him stop by before?" Ayumi asks her.

Hana tries to shake her head, but she can't. Her body wouldn't let her. Ayumi and Kagami were having a real conversation already. Somehow small talk had led to Ayumi finding out that he was on the basketball team, that he was a usual customer at her workplace, and he'd willingly given her his phone number. Took her ten minutes.

Ayumi answers for her. "Well, I guess not, huh? Since you don't usually work this late on the weekdays. Anyways, I started talking about what happened today, and he brushed it off, saying it wasn't a big deal. But since I wasn't satisfied with that, I got him to exchange numbers!"

Hana's brow furrowed as Ayumi clicked away at the buttons on her phone. "Wait, you talked about what happened at lunch? What exactly did you say?"

Her shoulders shrugged before tucking her phone away. "Not much. Just that I was sorry for surprising him and making a fuss."

So she didn't actually deny it. Of course.

When Hana's phone starts to vibrate in her purse, Ayumi giggles. She finds out Ayumi's sent her a message, and when she opens it she's greeted by Kagami's phone number. " _Kagami Taiga...?"_ she reads aloud.

"Cute, right?" Ayumi replies, still giggling. "I even asked if we could be friends, and he said yes! Isn't that great? I even went ahead and gave him your number, too!"

Dizziness hits her as she takes a step backward. _"Why?"_ she cries out.

She blinks. "Because you like him?"

"Did you _tell_ him that?"

She scoffs. " _No!_ But now you don't have to worry about a thing! You can get closer to him this way, and then tell him your feelings yourself!"

There was fury in her eyes. If they weren't standing outside of the restaurant right now, then Hana would've been screaming her little head off. Ayumi was always doing whatever she wanted, and it annoyed the hell out of her. Hana bites her tongue as she glances down at the message, before realizing there was more and scrolls further down. "Kuroko Tetsuya...?"

"Ah, that's Kagami's friend," Ayumi explains. She doesn't seem all that energetic mentioning him. "I didn't even notice he was there until he spoke up! It was so scary, like back in the classroom. But just to be polite, I exchanged numbers with him too. He's the one who helped you when you fell, isn't he?" At that point, though, Hana was staring down at the name and number on her screen in a bit of a daze. Ayumi raised an eyebrow. "Hana-chan?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya, Kuroko Tetsuya..." she murmured, doing her best to engrave the name into her brain. This time, she wouldn't forget it. She'd make absolute sure of that. She was angry at Ayumi for giving them her number, but at least she'd managed to get _some_ good out of this. "So his name was Kuroko-kun, all along? I was always so embarrassed when I couldn't remember."

Ayumi stands silently by as Hana continued to repeat his name, evidently calmer now than she'd been before. It was then that Ayumi decided to keep an eye on Kuroko-kun as well.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ayumi's up to something... e3e Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Locks of moist black curls fell on her face as she rolled over in bed and stared at the corner of her nightstand. Annoyed by her insomnia- despite being utterly and completely exhausted- her hand reached for the cellphone that was currently being charged, and she pulled it as far as the cable would let her without having to move from her comfortable position. As the screen came to life and illuminated her face, she waited a beat before opening her eyes again to adjust to the brightness, then went to look at the message that was sent to her today. _Kagami Taiga. Kuroko Tetsuya._ The names and numbers that stared back at her were now a part of her Contacts list.

 _If I'd deleted the message right then and there, then she would've whined_ , Hana conceded. And even if she had, then Ayumi would've kept messaging her until she was driven crazy. So she didn't have any choice but to give in.

It felt like in the past few months she'd been doing nothing but giving in.

That girl was a force of nature, and Hana could tell that she was letting her get away with her meddling more and more as time went by. Now, this. Maybe that was the worst part. Seeing her do what Hana couldn't. While Ayumi laughed, Ayumi shouted, and Hana thought that she could've been her. _Should've_ been her.

It was like a constant reminder of her junior high days. You'd think that these feelings would've faded by now, a whole year later, but they haven't. It was frustrating. A forced yawn escaped her mouth and Hana's eyes blinked groggily at the oncoming of sleep. The cellphone in her hand grew dim and she sighed. She finally knew her savior's name, and she should've felt relieved. And she did. But she felt conflicted about Ayumi having to help her. She was embarrassed about running away when discovering they were her classmates. For avoiding Kagami after that misunderstanding. And yet, they'd still accepted Hana's number...

 _It wasn't like they'd asked for it to begin with_ , she thought, as her consciousness began to drift. _Knowing Ayumi, she probably forced it on them._

Sill, deleting their contact info now would only make her feel guilty. Plus, the thought of Ayumi messaging the boys and talking about God knows what made Hana feel way too anxious to ignore. Keeping them was the polite thing to do. A sort of insurance.

 _If she says anything weird to them, I won't forgive her,_ she tells herself. And finally, she slept.

* * *

In the morning, Hana's body was singing with the soreness of having worked the previous days' shift. Eyeing the bottle of pain medication in her kitchen, she decided to take two pills rather than one and washed it down with the milk that remained in her cereal bowl. After breakfast, she returned to her room and began her daily routine of getting ready for the day. Which honestly wasn't much. She changed into the uniform that she'd left out the night before, washed her face, and then sat herself in front of the mirror. The real challenge came with controlling her hair.

When her phone started to ring in the middle of this grueling process, she groaned and let go of the bun grasped in her hand, setting it loose in wild disarray behind her. As she winced at the pain in her arm from having to hold it up for so long, she sat down on her bed and pressed the flashing green icon.

 _"HANA-CHAN, HELP!"_ came screeching through the speaker.

Hana's head recoiled away from the device with her thick brows scrunched together. She took a better look at the caller ID. No, this wasn't Ayumi that was calling her. It was her cousin. Hesitantly, she asked, "Ugh, Chi-chan? What's going on?"

 _"Rin-nii, forgot his lunch this morning! What do I do!?"_ the girl demanded, in an obvious state of panic.

Hana did a double-take. "Wait, _what? He forgot his lunch?"_ She could barely recall a time when something similar had happened before. "Are you positive?"

 _"Of course, I am! I wouldn't be calling you for help if I wasn't!"_

So this was really happening. "Yeah, but... I'm just surprised, you know? Have you texted him, yet?"

 _"Yes,"_ Chigusa sighed. _"But he can't reply because he left his phone at home!"_

"No way..." Hana murmured, in complete shock. No wonder his sister was panicking. She was normally cool and collected under pressure, but not even Hana had expected him to be this forgetful. She was at a loss for words. "Are we really talking about the same Rin, here?" she asked quietly.

 _"Hana, quit joking around!"_

" _O-okay_ , sorry. What about his friend?" she suggested. "Have you tried texting him?"

 _"I have, but he isn't answering either. What do I do?"_

"Can't you get your brothers to help?"

 _"But they've all left for school. They commute by bus, you know?"_

"Than just let him buy his own lunch today."

 _"I can't do that!"_ Chigusa shot back. _"He won't get the nutritional value he needs for practice!"_

Oh, that's right. He was a member of Seirin's basketball team. And her cousins were always super serious when it came to supporting Rin-kun and basketball, so she should've expected as much. "Okay... Good point."

 _"Do you think you could deliver his lunch for me?"_ she pleaded. _"If I take it to him directly, I'm scared I'll be late for school. My homeroom teacher gets really scary when he's mad, and I really don't want to have to deal with him. Please!"_

"Sure," she agreed quickly. Anything to ease her poor cousin's anxiety. She glanced at the clock and noted a little more than 20 minutes left till she had to get to school. Making her own lunch would have to wait till tomorrow. "But, Chigusa, how are you-?"

 _"Give me ten minutes, I'll be right there!"_ she shouted, and immediately hung up. Leaving Hana to sit on her bed with a blank look on her face.

 _How are you going to get me his lunch?_

* * *

Chigusa had borrowed one of her brother's bikes to get to Hana's apartment. The poor girl was gasping for breath as she parked it on the sidewalk, sweating profusely from having to pedal so quickly in such little time. Now it was Hana who was the worried mess. "Ch-Chi-chan, are you all right? I could get you some water-"

She shook her head, sending sweat flying. "No time!" She handed her the large bento box from her school bag and pointed at her. "Just make sure you deliver it to him, okay?"

"Y-yeah." She nodded.

"Oh, and could you give this to him, too?" She reached back into her school bag and brought out a cell phone. "Sometimes he forgets to tell us when he'll be home late from practice and gets overly depressed about not letting us know beforehand. He was able to tell us yesterday, so I was able to make dinner in his place, but... I'd feel a lot better if Rin-nii had this with him. Just in case of an emergency."

Hana's heart squeezed, and she sniffed back some tears. _Rin-kun, you jerk. You don't deserve such an angel of a sister._

"But I still can't believe he forgot it in the first place!" Chigusa wailed, making the wings and halo from Hana's fantasy disappear. "I knew he was tired this morning, but I didn't think he'd forget something so important!"

"Tired?" Hana murmured, and suddenly, images of Kuroko and Kagami from last night flashed in her mind's eye. _Didn't they say they were coming from practice...?_ "Does basketball practice always end that late?"

Chigusa regarded her curiously. "Just recently, actually. Everyone's pretty fired up about the Interhigh this year, so the team's been training to their absolute limits these past few weeks. I know he's doing his best, but I always end up worrying about him." She said, and pouted, probably feeling bad about the whole situation.

Hana smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, Chi-chan. I'll make sure he gets his lunch and phone, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

The middle schooler smiled back. "Thanks, Hana-chan. Just don't go _too_ easy on him though!"

"You got it!" she shouted, waving her cousin goodbye as she rode off to school.

* * *

One of the arguments Hana had used to convince her parents into living alone was the fact that her relatives lived nearby. Stop worrying, she'd told them. If I need anything, they'll be right there. But it had been weeks since the last time she'd spoken to any of them; Let alone face to face... Since getting a job, it had been difficult for them to keep in touch. Her days off from work consisted of her doing laundry and chores. And she was either too busy with schoolwork or too tired to make the trip to their house. Plus, with ten siblings all living under the same roof, spending dinners with them felt more like a test of her stamina than a casual visit.

With the exception of Rinnosuke and his brother, Shuuichi (who was the same age as Hana), the rest of her cousins were all younger than her and _extremely_ energetic. The older ones were generally polite, but they had a habit of carrying several conversations at once during dinner time. And Hana would be lucky to keep up with them without biting her tongue or choking on her meal first. After dinner, the younger children would still have the energy to drag her into some sort of game, or end up roughhousing when it wouldn't go their way, so she'd be referee to keep everyone from killing each other. Or at least until Chigusa stepped in. Needless to say, visits to the Mitobe household were always anything but calm.

It had been the complete opposite of her family. Her older brother had spent the majority of Hana's life living in the dorms while attending college and immediately married after graduation, so she'd barely gotten to see him at all. And her big sister had preferred to spend her time out with her friends, so she'd always been out of the house and was quite the rebel. Now in her early 20s, she was an intern at a publishing company, and living with a roommate somewhere in Yokohama. Before moving to Kyoto to start their new restaurant, Hana's only company at meal times had been with her middle-aged parents. The both of them had been successful accountants for the majority of their lives, until one day, they'd confessed that their dream was to open up a restaurant. And with the help of a family friend, the rest became history.

Because of their age differences, it had always felt to Hana like she was an only child. So growing up, she'd been the closest to Rin-kun and Chi-chan, who were both a year apart from her. They'd felt more like family to her than her own siblings ever had... Now she was attending the same high school as her cousin, Rinnosuke: the most responsible and hardworking guy Hana had ever known. Until today, apparently.

He probably wasn't even aware of the stressful morning he'd caused, Chigusa. _Poor thing,_ Hana thought, as she hurried through the school gates. _I hope she got to school on time._ As the oldest, Rin-kun was always doing his best to take care of everyone else but had a tendency of worrying his sister if albeit unintentionally. Making sure he had his phone had probably been the last thing on his mind when he'd woken up this morning.

"Hmm, basketball," she murmured, as she went ahead and changed her shoes at her locker. The very mention of the sport caused memories to resurface for Hana. Some good and some bad. One memory, specifically, still caused her heart to ache to this very day. She slammed her locker shut, and continued on her way to class. Thinking about it now would just put her in a somber mood. "Let's try to keep that from happening today, yes?"

"Keep what from happening?"

Hana's breath caught in her throat. These surprise attacks were becoming more frequent. "H-huh?"

"Good morning, Iwasaki-san," the blue-haired boy greeted. His usual blank expression was only slightly different due to the concern in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if you were talking to me."

"O-oh," she stuttered. It was Kuroko-kun. Despite the scare he'd just caused her, knowing his name now made her feel slightly more confident facing him. Hana forced a smile and she shook her head. "Sorry. I actually wasn't. I-I just kind of have a habit of talking to myself," she admitted sheepishly.

"I see." Hana's lips twitched at his resigned tone. He stared at her for a second, before nodding and turning his body in the opposite direction. "Well, we should get to class. It's going to start soon."

"R-right," she agreed. She readjusted the strap of her school bag on her shoulder and followed him. Hana was actually pretty happy that he'd dropped the subject. He could've made some quirky comment about it or teased her further, but he hadn't. She didn't really know what to make of him, but at least he was polite.

She stayed at a reasonable distance behind him as they went up the stairs and down the hall. Now that she thought about it, there were actually a lot of things that she wanted to talk to him about. Thanking him for helping her the other night was the first to come to mind. Especially for the money he'd left for the bento; money that she still had safely tucked away in her wallet. There was also yesterday morning when she'd bumped into him in class, and she'd forgotten his name. Even if he hadn't noticed, she still felt a little guilty about that. Then there was the whole incident at lunch, and last night when Ayumi had barged in on him and Kagami at Maji Burger. She was actually really concerned about the way things might've played out, but with him facing his back to her now, she found it difficult to bring up any of the things that she wanted to say.

It still felt like they were strangers. But he already had her phone number, so... Were they more or less acquaintances now? Hana's lips pursed thoughtfully as she stared at the back of his spiky head. Whatever the case, he was still her classmate (even if she'd discovered it a mere 24 hours earlier). If she thought about it that way, than acting naturally around him should become less embarrassing over time.

Now that she'd found her resolve, Hana walked up beside him. "Ugh, Kuroko-kun?"

Something flickered over his face as he turned to look at her. "Yes?"

 _He noticed. He noticed me saying his name._ She gulped. "Um. About the other night..."

"You know, if you start conversations like that than people are going to get the wrong idea," someone giggled behind them.

Hana whirled on her as the pink enveloped her cheeks. _How long had she been there?!_

"M-Maika?"

"Good morning," she said. She inclined her head toward Kuroko expectedly as well.

"Good morning, Nozomu-san," he replies. Though his expression doesn't change, the two of them don't break eye contact. It gave Hana the impression that a private conversation was going on.

When Maika looked back at Hana, she caught her staring. "So have you got my notes?"

Hana blinked. "Notes?"

"The ones I let you borrow yesterday?" She smirked at her teasingly, amused that she'd lost her train of thought while observing her and Kuroko. "From last period?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do." As Hana unzipped her school bag, some unknown entity bumped her with a force that sent her reeling forward and into Maika's arms. A boy gave her a faint apology as he and his friends passed by, but before she could even respond, a couple dozen more people flooded the hallway, and soon, she was caught in the middle of a wave of human traffic.

"Nozomu-san, Iwasaki-san, I'm going to go ahead," Kuroko called. Hana couldn't really locate him, but by the sound of his voice, he must've been quite a distance away. Grabbing Hana by the arm, Maika skillfully maneuvered them both from being swept along by the crowd.

"Where'd he go?"

"I think the force of the crowd pushed him away," Hana chuckled, as she pulled out her friend's notebook and handed it to her. "He really doesn't have much of a presence at all."

Maika snorted. "You're telling me. So...?"

" _So_ , what?" Hana repeated. She smiled nervously (or maybe frowned awkwardly) at her friend's tone.

"Have you texted Kagami-kun, yet?"

Hana's face fell. "How do you...?"

"Ayumi sent me a text last night, so I already know most of the details."

"Are you kidding me? Don't tell me she exchanged your number, too?"

"Yeah, but only after I'd asked her to. I wanted to make sure I was in the loop in case of damage control," she admitted. Well, that would explain how Kuroko knew her name. And at least she'd been thinking the same thing.

Hana sighed. "You know, she wouldn't have been there if you hadn't told her to apologize in the first place." To her annoyance, Maika laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry. I didn't think that Kagami-kun would be there, so it's my bad." She shook her head and pressed a hand to her curved lips. "But I didn't think she'd be that bold, you know? I mean, I sort of did, but to be so straightforward when asking for a guys' number- She's sure something else."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were complimenting her."

The brunette grinned and bumped shoulders with her. "Oh, come on. You've gotta admit, she's pretty ballsy."

"I think you mean, _meddlesome_ ," Hana said irritably. "Anyways, correct me if I'm wrong, but am I the only one thinking that she might be trying to set me up with him...?"

 _"With Kagami-kun?"_ Maika asked her, sounding more excited than she'd intended.

Hana leveled a look at her. "I already told you that I don't think of him that way, so don't even start, please. One Ayumi's enough, thanks." And with that, she straightened her back before marching toward their classroom.

"Oh, come on, Hana. You can't tell me that the only reason you've been acting all weird around him is because of lunch yesterday?"

There _was_ that. But there was also the fact that she'd been watching him from her kitchen window since moving into her apartment, and she'd rather eat her own hand before letting _anyone_ know about that. It had been so much better when there wasn't a name and face attached to the redheaded basketball player. So much simpler. If he hadn't been there with Kuroko that night, than she wouldn't be feeling all self-conscious of him now.

"No, now drop it," she ordered. The bell rang for class to start, and the two of them scrambled into the classroom. Hana didn't even give Kagami a second glance as she went to her seat.

"Well, she would've exchanged numbers with them even if she hadn't gone to see you yesterday," Maika murmured, as she dug around her pencil case. And though Hana didn't want to admit it, she probably would have. "Well, whatever her intentions are, it's pretty clear that she's doing all this for you."

Hana scrunched the left corner of her mouth as she faced ahead, waiting for the teacher to walk through the door.

 _You're wrong, Maika. I don't really know for_ whom _she's doing this for..._

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, Hana's head was buzzing with all sorts of thoughts from the past few days. It was a wonder how she maintained her high grade point average while dwelling over the kinds of things she did during class. For one, she hadn't been able to thank Kuroko this morning like she'd planned. There was also the matter of Kagami, and having to clear up the misunderstandings between them as well. Their skittishness around each other would only give rise to more misconceptions, and Hana had to put an end to it today. All of the things that she'd pushed back were getting piled on top of each other, and if she didn't start picking it apart soon, then the whole thing might just end up collapsing on her.

Hana's spirits only sunk further when she remembered she hadn't made her lunch this morning, and she had to go deliver Rin-kun's bento instead. "I guess it's bread for me today, too," she muttered under her breath.

"Again?" Maika groaned. "But I actually brought mine today."

Hana grabbed her arm and tugged. "You still have to come with me."

"Why? It's not my fault you have love on the brain."

" _H-Hey-!"_

"I mean, I know how you feel, but please don't let that affect your memory even further-"

" _Oh!? Is Hana lovesick, all ready?"_ Hana's orange eyes glared daggers at Maika as Ayumi made her way toward them. The spring in her step only annoyed her more than she already was. "Did you text him yet? I bet you did, right? Right?"

Hana's head quickly turned to glance at Kuroko and Kagami's seats- _which were both thankfully empty_ \- before shaking her head. "Nope."

" _Huuuh?_ Why not?"

"What do you mean, why?" she countered. "What am I supposed to talk about?"

"Well about your feelings, of course! You can talk about your interests and hobbies, and find out what you both have in common. It might even be easier to flirt with him over the phone than it is in real life! You can even call him and talk to him all night long, talking about your dreams and aspirations until eventually, one of you works up the courage to ask the other one out, and-"

"Stop," Hana interjected, her thumb and index finger squeezing the bridge of her nose in frustration. Hana had always hated confrontation, but if this was the only way to get it across that stubborn brain of hers, than there was no other way. "I don't have any feelings for him _, whatsoever_. So can you please stop already?"

Ayumi's face fell in disappointment. "But, Hana-"

She wagged her finger at her. "No. No, buts." Sitting silently between them, Maika made a muted whistle.

"But I really think you guys would look cute together," she went on.

"That's not the point, Ayumi. Did you even listen to what I just said?"

Maika raised her hand. "For what it's worth, I kind of think you guys would make a cute couple, too."

"Wh- _what!?"_

"You see!? Even Maika thinks so, too!"

Maika propped an elbow against the corner of her desk and shrugged. "I don't know, I kind of think you should give this a chance, Hana. I mean, Ayumi's already got all of the groundwork laid out for you, so why not just go for it?" Hana's eyes were as wide as saucers, finding it hard to believe that they'd actually tag-teamed against her. Maika only gave her a look. A _"dot-dot-dot... Sorry, not sorry"_ kind of look. The topic of love and relationships was something that even Maika was passionate about, so Hana should've been wary of having the table flipped on her. She probably even thought that Ayumi was doing her a favor. If she hadn't spent so much time contemplating what to do, than maybe it wouldn't have ended up this way.

As Hana readied herself for the counterattack, Ayumi's eyes lit up. " _Oh!_ They're back! They're back!"

 _Oh my God._

Hana wrapped her fingers around Ayumi's arm as she caught the glimpse of blue and red walk into the classroom. She pulled her down and formed a group huddle around Maika who remained seated in her chair. She hoped that they couldn't hear the wild drumming of her heart from this up close. "Stop it, you guys! I mean it!" she hissed, knowing that she sounded frantic, but at this point, didn't care.

"Don't worry about a thing, Hana. You've got me on your side," Ayumi assured her and broke the huddle as she rose. Hana nearly tripped over Maika's legs in her attempt to catch her, but it was already too late. "Kagami-kun! Kuroko-kun! Mind if we join you guys?" Without waiting for a response, she pulled two chairs up to their desks and gestured for Hana to sit in one of them.

Hana had to physically restrain herself from grinding her teeth.

Kagami looked at Ayumi with a dumbstruck, yet surprisingly scared expression on his face. Twice, she'd snuck up on him during his precious mealtime. And for the second time, Hana could sympathize for the poor guy. Too tongue-tied to respond, Kuroko was the first of the two to speak up. "I don't mind," he says.

"That's great! You remember my friend, right?" Ayumi asked, turning to Kagami. The simple question ended up putting him on the spot as everyone fell quiet around him. Hana internally groaned as it was a method that would force his attention on her from the get-go. His mouth opened slightly as his gaze raked over Hana. Despite her deteriorating attitude, her heart still managed to make one of those annoying flips as he gave her a thorough survey.

"Ah..." Hana watched as he raised his hand and pointed a finger toward his head, in an apparent struggle to voice whatever it was that he was thinking. And then finally, the edges of his lips raised in an anxious smile as his most prominent thought was said aloud in the English language. _"It's like a tumbleweed."_

Every single person looked startled by what he'd said, and glanced at Hana, where the bun atop her head appeared to roll into a desert of their imaginations. Hana, on the other hand, was surprised to find that a part of her was actually disappointed that he couldn't remember her name. That despite the number of times they'd run across each other, he still hadn't memorized it.

"My name's, Iwasaki Hana," she says, adjusting her tone with an apparent effort. To try and make him feel less guilty than he already did, she forced a smile as well. "I actually have to drop something off for my cousin, so I don't think I'll be able to join you guys."

"Oh, you do?" Ayumi asked, looking surprised but sounding relieved. Behind her, Kagami gave a small sigh. It was Ayumi's fault for backing him into a corner like this in the first place.

"Yeah. He left his bento at home this morning, so I should probably go deliver that. I'll see you guys, later." She smiled one last time before turning away from them and going to her desk for the darn lunch.

* * *

They may have been set on hooking her and Kagami up, but she wasn't about to go along with the program. And it looked like Kagami wasn't going to let things go smoothly like Ayumi had expected, either. Despite the awkward exit, Hana was grateful for the escape route her cousin had granted her in that moment. _Well, at least your forgetfulness did some good, Rin-kun._ But it also meant that she'd have to push back her talk with Kagami _again_. Things were only getting more awkward between them, and with Ayumi's involvement, things were sure to get even worse.

 _You're just bothering him, Ayumi. Learn to read the situation, please._

Finally arriving to Class 2-D, she managed to ask one of the males loitering in front of the entrance to get her cousin for her. When he returned, he told her that he wasn't in the classroom, and one of his buddies mentioned they saw him leaving a few minutes ago. "Th-thanks anyway," she said, stalking off. Her stomach began to grumble. If she didn't find him soon then the lunch would have to be taken care of one way or another...

" _What do you mean you want a shorter practice today?_ We've got two games this weekend, remember? _Back to back! We can't take it easy now!"_

"We'll work even harder tomorrow- _twice_ as hard!"

 _"Eh!?_ Don't tell her that!"

Hana paused, ears perking at the familiar voice of a male coming from one of the classrooms.

"But, like, we barely had time to finish our homework last night~ We both did!"

Her ears weren't deceiving her. That voice belonged to 2nd year, Koganei Shinji. And wherever he was...

"Mitobe, even forgot to bring his lunch this morning!"

...her cousin was sure to be present as well.

Hana realized that the voices were coming from Class 2-A, and briskly walked toward the entrance. Inside, she could see her cousin and his friend standing by the front of the classroom around a girl who sat in a desk, and a male wearing glasses. Hana instantly recognized the short-haired brunette as Riko Aida, the basketball team's coach. They'd only ever met once, and it had been at last year's Interhigh after one of Seirin's games. Hana had been invited by her cousins last minute to help cheer Rinnosuke and his team on. She hadn't been able to attend any of the games afterward, but from what she'd heard, the competition had been too fierce for the newly formed team to handle. She couldn't quite remember the name of the boy with glasses, but if she remembered right, he was the team's captain. Relieved to have found her cousin before lunch had ended, she bolted toward him. "HEY, _RIN-KUN!"_

The four of them all turned around, shocked by the shouting, but even more by the large bento box that came flying at them. A second before impact, Rinnosuke managed to catch the lunch in midair and gulped at how close it had come to hitting his face. He blinked a few times before coming out of the trance and his eyebrows swept up in surprise. "Don't you, _'Hana?'_ me!" Hana shot back, as she reached up and angrily pinched both of his cheeks. "You irresponsible, jerk! I can't believe you forgot to bring your lunch this morning! Do you _know_ how much trouble you caused poor, Chigusa!? She was a worried mess!"

At the mention of his sister's name, Rinnosuke became even more flustered, but Hana only squeezed harder. _I told Chi-chan I wouldn't go easy on you, you know!_

She spotted his friend Koganei nervously creeping up beside them. "He says he's really sorry, Hana-chan, so can you please let go of his face now?"

Annoyed, Hana released one of her hands and started pinching Koganei's nose. " _You think I need an interpreter to know that?"_ she shot back. "And don't think that you're off the hook either, Koga! You weren't answering any of Chigusa's calls, either!"

"But it wasn't on purpose!" The older boy defended, waving his arms around in a complete panic. "It was an accident, I swear! I couldn't find my phone this morning, and- _Ah, I can't breathe! Hana-chan, let go!_ " The punishment went on for a few seconds longer until Koganei collapsed from forgetting to breathe through his mouth, and Rinnosuke's cheeks becoming so swollen that he looked like a puffer fish.

Hana let out a satisfied breath as she looked down at the two males, silently thanking her cousin again for giving her an excuse to vent her frustrations. She felt refreshed.

In front of her, the team captain and coach looked on with semi-worried, and amused faces but didn't appear to have any intention of getting involved. Hana gave a curt bow. "Um, I'm sorry for interrupting."

"That's okay," Riko said earnestly. "I was going to punish them anyway, but I'm glad you gave them a preview of what's to come."

"Preview!?" Koganei exclaimed, reawakened as he shot up from the floor. Rinnosuke also looked at their coach but with a dazed look on his swollen face. The captain tried hard not to laugh.

The brunette's brow furrowed as she brought her drink to her lips and sipped. "You said you'd work hard tomorrow, right?"

The captain's eyes widened. "Coach?"

"I mean, after hearing that practice caused so much trouble, I'm kind of feeling a little guilty," she murmured. Hana sees her glance her way. From what Chigusa had told her, Hana wasn't really surprised by the coach's determination to get the team farther in this year's Interhigh. But if practice was going to intervene with their schoolwork and other responsibilities, than it would probably only do them more harm than good. And by the look in her eyes, Hana could tell that the coach was currently pondering over that very thing. "So I guess we could have practice be a little shorter today than last night. But you'd better be prepared and show up tomorrow with _**double**_ the amount of stamina as before! I don't want to hear you guys causing any more blunders, okay? If we're going to defeat Seiho and Shutoku, then you'd better give it your all, you hear me?"

"Yes, coach!" The three of them agreed in unison (Mitobe with an affirming look rather than words).

Riko looked pleased with the response. "Good. Sorry for all the trouble, ugh..."

"Iwasaki Hana," she replied contently. This was a much lighter feeling than when Kagami had forgotten her name... "I'm a cousin of Rinnosuke's."

"Ah!" The captain let out, then quickly cleared his throat. "I was wondering about the resemblance. So you're cousins."

Hana nodded. "Yup. But our eyebrows are our only similar trait though. Right, Rin-kun?" A small smile formed on her cousin's plump face as he nodded at her. She grinned at his current state.

"Oh, I remember now. We met last year during the Interhigh," Riko murmured. "Sorry about forgetting your name. But I hope you'll come cheer for us this year, too!"

"Oh, well, I'll think about-" Something similar to an animal's growl cut her off, filled the room, and lasted several seconds before Hana noticed that everyone was staring at her stomach. Her face flushed red in embarrassment.

 _"You idiots!"_ Riko shouted, rising from her seat and pointing accusingly at Mitobe and Koganei. "I can't believe you forced a maiden to skip her lunch to find you guys! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

 _"E-eh!? But we didn't mean to-!"_

"You'd better treat her to something good or else I'll extend today's practice to 4 hours, rather than 3!" she threatened.

Now even the captain looked rattled. "Y-you heard the coach! Hurry up, and go treat her!"

"O-okay!" Koga agreed. Too embarrassed to object, she let the both of them pull her out of the classroom and into the hallway, amused by their swiftness at the coach's orders. Rinnosuke gave her an apologetic look the whole way to the cafeteria, deeply regretting the amount of trouble he'd caused her. But Hana merely shook her head and found herself laughing instead. Being around this troublesome duo made her feel happier than she would've expected.

* * *

Riko's eyes didn't leave the path that the trio had taken on their way out, and sipped idly at her juice box as she mulled over what she'd just seen. Immediately noticing her behavior, Hyuga Junpei, aimed her a quizzical look. "Something wrong?"

"Her leg," she tells him.

"...Huh?"

"Her ankle, to be more specific," she explained. "She was putting the same amount of pressure onto her right leg as her left, but it didn't seem to be bothering her."

Once again, he looked surprised by his coach's insight. "Wait, are you saying she was hurt?"

"Yeah." Riko frowned. "It didn't look that swollen, but if she doesn't rest soon, it's going to get worse. She probably took something really strong to counteract the pain."

Hyuga studied her for a bit. "I guess mentioning it then was really bad timing, huh?"

"UGH!" Frustrated, she raked both hands through her hair. "Maybe I should've said something...! _Ah, I know!_ I'll text Mitobe and tell him to ask if she's okay."

As she whipped out her cellphone, Hyuga gave a weak smile. "But didn't he forget his phone today?"

Riko's body stiffened and a dark aura surrounded her. Hyuga regretted mentioning it at all.

* * *

 **A/N:** I love Mitobe and his family so much you guys, you don't even know! x3 Gonna end it on a cliffhanger here! Seeya o0o~


	5. Chapter 5

"Rin-Kun, I said it was fine." Her cousin's frown was practically hanging off the edges of his face, but Hana stood firm. She avoided the pickled plum he aimed her way, but couldn't get far since Koganei sat on her other side. She looked to him for assistance but was only met by amusement in his eyes as he snacked on the fried fish he'd packed for lunch. The boy could forget his phone, but never his food, Hana thought. She ended up accepting it and scowled at Rinnosuke when he started reaching for another item from his bento. "If you keep feeding me your lunch, than all of Chigusa's efforts will have been in vain." She told him and watched as his eyebrows squeezed together in guilt. Here we go again. "I mean, it's delicious, but I'm not a baby anymore, Rin."

"She's right, Mitobe," Koganei said as he nodded. His arms were crossed in an attempt to appear serious. "Hana's in high school now. I'm sure she'd prefer to have the person she likes sharing lunch with her, instead of her cousin." A light pink spread across Hana's face, and beside her, Mitobe's chopsticks fell from his hand in shock.

"Now hold on a second-!"

 _"They grow up so fast~"_ Koganei said wistfully as he bit into another fish. Mitobe's entire figure looked like some badly drawn ghost.

She grabbed her cousin's shoulder and shook him."Rin-kun, he's just joking! _Get a grip!"_

"He still reacts the same way!" Koganei laughed. "You worry too much!"

Hana swatted the fish out of his hand. "Quit messing around!"

" _Aah!_ My fish!" he cried. He hurried to retrieve it as Hana tried snapping her cousin out of it. Mitobe was like an overprotective mother when it came to things like this. Especially when it involved her or any of his younger sisters. Bringing up the subject whenever one of them was around was one of Koganei's favorite ways to tease his silent bestie. And Mitobe would always take him a bit too seriously.

"Geez, Koga! Help me snap him out of it!"

He pouted from where he was crouched on the ground, fish in his mouth. "Why should I? You threw my fish."

 _"Koganei!"_

"Okay, okay." He stopped chewing on the delicacy as he got up and clambered his way over to them. "I was just kidding, okay? I mean, look at her. Hana-chan wouldn't be spending lunch with us if she had a boyfriend, right?" He said, as his hand bounced against the fluffy bun of hair on her head. "And this is fussy Hana that we're talking about-"

 _"Oi,"_ she bit out, aiming him a menacing gaze. "Why does it sound like you're insulting me?"

"H-huh? You said to help, so I'm-"

"You make it sound impossible that I'd have a boyfriend."

"But you don't, right?"

Hana's eyes burrowed into his own and he backed away. "That's not the point."

 _"But it's true, right?"_

The vein in her forehead throbbed, and just as she was about to get up from the bench, a large hand patted her head. Without her noticing, Mitobe's dreary expression was clear, and he looked satisfied as he ruffled her hair. That seemed to only tick her off more.

"See? Told ya!" Koganei said cheerfully and settled back onto the bench to continue his meal. It was hard to stay mad while her cousin was making one of his million dollar smiles, so she accepted defeat and quietly took a sip of the strawberry milk Koga had bought for her. A part of her was slightly annoyed that he found gratification in her single status, but even more in the fact that his best friend had said it to her face without any hesitation. She could get a boyfriend if she wanted to, damn it. Did she want one? No. Not at the moment... But _they_ didn't need to know that. If Chigusa were here, than that would've been their cue to gang up on them.

Instead, Hana did her best to hold down her temper and accepted an egg roll from her cousin. Dealing with Koganei's teasing was a hundred times easier than facing the matchmaking duo back in the classroom. And with Maika now playing on offense, Hana would have to work _twice_ as hard on defense. Today's awkward get-together may have resulted in Hana's favor, but there was no guarantee that the victories would continue to snowball from here. She'd have to stay on high alert from now on.

 _Like I wasn't worn out enough,_ she thought irritably. _What makes them think that I'd have_ time _to be in a relationship, anyway? I barely have time to buy my own groceries._

At that thought, she bit into one of the healthily stuffed sandwiches her cousin and Koganei had bought for her and relished in the tantalizing flavors. They'd spared no expense in treating her to lunch, and had dipped into the more pricey side of the menu in the school's cafeteria. She'd only glanced at the label for a second before digging in, but she was pretty sure she'd read that there were 3 different kinds of meats in this particular sandwich. Maybe on the 27th, she'd _accidentally_ forget to make her lunch again, and remind her cousin about the time she'd delivered his bento and phone at his sister's request... Hana's mouth stopped chewing her food and she stared, blankly at the sandwich in her hands. _Rinnosuke's phone...!_

The palm of her hand smacked against her forehead. _Again_ , she'd forgotten something important due to Ayumi's interference. There was Kagami and Kuroko's meal yesterday at Maji burger, and today, her cousin's phone. The scheming was just getting started, and their results were already taking their effect. "Darn it."

"What's up, Hana-chan?" Koganei asked through a mouthful of rice.

"I forgot to bring Rin-kun's phone with me," she said, turning to her cousin. "Chi-chan was worried since Koga wasn't answering his phone and there'd be no other way of contacting you." As Rinnosuke's mouth dropped in guilt-ridden shock, Hana's hand flew to her skirt's pocket for her phone.

"Well, that's Chigusa for you," Koganei said thoughtfully and sighed. "I sure wish my sister had dropped off my phone for me today. Whoa, relax, Mitobe. You can always make it up to her. Today's practice won't be as long as yesterday's, so just make your sister's favorite meal or something." At his friend's suggestion, Mitobe snapped his mouth shut and nodded in consensus. He knew that it would take several dinners before his apology would be accepted, so he pressed his hand to his chin and began to mentally plan the rest of the week's menu when arriving home.

In the meantime, Hana was silently hunched over her phone with her thumb pressed to the screen. She was conflicted about telling Maika after remembering she was having lunch with **them** in the classroom. So was asking her to bring it to her really a good idea? Maika was both tactful and unpredictable. It wasn't the same unpredictability as Ayumi, though: She was reckless and didn't have a discreet bone in her body. Maika, on the other hand, was quick-witted and had never been shy about expressing her opinion. That straightforward talk, while annoying at times, was one of the reasons they got along so well. But after announcing she'd be on the opposing team: Could Hana still trust her to have her back? For all she knew, Ayumi would probably show up with Kagami instead, or even on his own.

"You guys really are alike," Koganei said, startling Hana.

"Huh?"

"You and Mitobe, I mean." He gestured with his chopsticks to his friend at the opposite end of the bench, where he still sat pondering over what foods to make for the next few days. "Once the gears start rolling, they never stop. You guys really are complete worrywarts."

At the comment, Hana found herself grinning. Their overthinking was probably one of the few things the two cousins had in common, and she couldn't help but feel amused by that. She exhaled a breath before smiling down at her phone and began to send Maika a text. _I can see why they've been friends for so long,_ Hana mused. _Worrywarts like us need someone to bring us back down to earth._

Once the text was sent she turned her focus back to her half-eaten sandwich and took a big bite. "I left it back in the classroom," she explained, "so I've asked my friend if she could bring it for me." It wasn't less than a minute later that Maika replied, and Hana's eyes widened. "It's not there...?" she read aloud. She pushed aside her lunch and immediately began to text her back. [What do you mean it isn't there?]-Hana

[I even checked your desk. I'm telling you it isn't here.]-Maika

Hana's hand pressed against her lips. But how? She'd put it in her school bag, she was sure of it. As Hana tried to mentally retrace her steps, she was momentarily shocked by a hand on her shoulder. Her cousin cast her a worried look, questioning whether everything was alright. In response, Hana merely smiled. "It's okay. I think I might've left it elsewhere, so I'm gonna go look for it myself."

"Eh? But what about your lunch?" Koganei asked, pointing to the second sandwich they'd bought for her. She hadn't even finished the first one.

"You can have it," Hana told them, already rising to her feet. Her phone vibrated again, notifying her of a new message, and she raised a hand to excuse herself. "I have to go, but I'll make sure you get your phone by the end of the day. You still have practice in the gymnasium, right?"

"Ah, we might have to run a few laps, so you'll have to get there as soon as classes end," Koganei informed her.

She nodded and quickly turned away. "Then I'll see you guys later! Thanks for the food!"

Koganei frowned as he watched the sixteen-year-old run off. "Hm, she could've stayed a little longer. It's been a while since we've last spoken." He glanced at his friend and wasn't surprised to find him with an anxious look on his face. "I know it's difficult with her working and all, but you should try checking up on her when you get the chance. Okay?"

Mitobe's mouth became a flat line, and he nodded.

"Cool. Now who's gonna get the extra sandwich?" he asked, licking his lips with that mischievous gleam in his eye. But before he could grab it, Mitobe's huge hand flew out and slammed against Koganei's face with a loud SMACK, holding him back. At least it was better than having a bento thrown at him...

* * *

Hana was scrolling through her messages as she made her way into the building and toward the stairs. Maika was still stuck in the classroom, caught in a conversation being led by Ayumi it seemed. The topic, of course, being Hana herself. Thankfully for her, Hana had been careful about sharing personal details with Ayumi over the past several months, so there wasn't much to share on her part. But that's where Maika came in; Hana's best friend and prime source for details on the frizzy-haired girl. At the moment, it seemed like Ayumi was going over how hardworking Hana was in an effort to gain Kagami's favor, and was using Maika as backup. Like she couldn't make her intentions any more obvious, Hana thought, exasperated.

[Just thinking about it is humiliating enough...]-Hana

[How do you think I feel?]-Maika

[Well, you're the one who wanted to go along with her antics in the first place.]-Hana

[Hey, you should be thanking me.（；¬＿¬) I'm the one who's sitting here and making sure she isn't saying anythingweird about you.]-Maika

Hana snorted. It was obvious to her now that she'd misjudged the situation this time. Maika wasn't as enthusiastic about this as Ayumi was- in fact, she probably preferred going about things her own way, instead of going along with her. But at least she was looking out for her, and keeping tabs on whatever it was Ayumi was telling them. And knowing that Maika was there did bring her _some_ sense of relief.

[Okay, fine... Thank you for that.]-Hana

[No probs. So how's the search going?]-Maika

Hana frowned as she ducked her head into a trash can after a group of students passed by. She had a firm suspicion her collision in the hallway that morning had had some part in her losing the blasted thing, but the hallway was virtually empty (putting the people that occasionally passed by aside). And if it wasn't in either her school bag or desk than that left very few options of where else to search. The garbage being one of them. [Not very good...] Hana texted back, after scowering the near-empty trash can. [I've searched the stairs and hallway, but there's nothing there. I've even started looking through trash...]

Her phone vibrated a second later. [Do you really think someone would throw away a phone, instead of keeping it?]-Maika

She had a point. Hana let out a deep sigh and leaned against the wall behind her. Slid down to her knees. If that were the case, then the likelihood of getting it back was very slim. She may even end up buying her cousin a new one.

"I promised Chi-chan I'd get it to him no matter what..." she muttered under her breath. She dragged a hand through her hair. How could she have been so careless? Chigusa had even gone out of her way this morning and gone to school in that messy state. And Hana had lost it as easily as that? It had been the first time they'd seen each other in weeks, and this was how she handled her requests? Half-assed? She scowled at her knees, before instantly separating her hand from her head. Gross, she'd been looking through trash just a few minutes ago. She gave another sigh before wiping her hands against her skirt and reached for her phone at the sound of a new message.

[Have you tried going to the student council?]- Maika

Hana groaned in annoyance. "The student council? No way." It was a bright idea, but if she could, she'd rather avoid going to them for help. One member, in particular, had always rubbed her the wrong way and seeing him now would probably only put a bigger damper on her mood. "That's way more annoying..." Hana reached for the windowsill above her and pulled herself to her feet.

"You called?"

Hana freezes. Actually freezes in place after getting up.

 _Why was_ **he** _here?_

"You're looking for this, right?" he asks her.

She doesn't turn around to look at him. Instead, she faces the window and sees the object through the reflection. She didn't dare look at his face.

"H-how did you...?" she began.

His reflection shrugged. "You're supposed to bring missing items to the student council. I thought that was common knowledge."

The same leg begins to ache again. She still doesn't turn to face him.

"Not so annoying now, huh?" He scoffs.

Hana's hand grips the windowsill, alarmed by her sudden lightheadedness. Curse her habit of speaking to herself. "How did you know it was mine?"

"It's yours?" He asked her, sounding skeptical. "This is Mitobe's, right? He's had the same phone since junior high, so I'd recognize it anywhere. I thought about using it to text his friend, but he's got the homescreen locked. And he wasn't in his classroom either, so I figured I'd come ask you." Hana stands there with her back to him, continuing to watch him carefully from the reflection in the window. When the lines of his mouth form a grin, she felt goosebumps. "If you're looking for it than I guess it really is his. Don't tell me _you're_ the one who lost it?"

Hana's heart constricted. Still, she managed to keep her voice calm. "I-it fell out of my bag this morning."

"Yeah, I can see that," he spoke calmly. "You wouldn't mind if I delivered it instead, right?"

She cringed.

"I mean, we wouldn't want you losing it again. And I think we both know how easily it is for you to lose things..."

Hana's orange eyes went wide and stared unseeingly into the glass. Her mind was blank as he inched closer to her; took her hand. She wanted to run.

"Just kidding." He places the device into her hand and curls her fingers around it for her. He takes a step back. "If I went around delivering every missing thing that showed up, than nothing would get done in the student council. Since Mitobe's an old friend, I'll make an acception and leave this with you." He takes a slow step. And then another. "By the way, the next time an upperclassmen speaks to you, it helps to look them directly in the eye. _**Scaredy-cat.**_ _"_ He regarded her with a cynical look before finally turning away.

The raising of her heart makes it difficult to hear the notification from her phone, but she grips the windowsill with her free hand and ignores it. She wouldn't be able to answer Maika quite yet. Not the way she was now. Hana breathes in and out as she manages to keep herself from sinking to the ground. From collapsing.

"...That bastard... that creep..." she repeats. Her nerves, which were on the verge of breaking, are now replaced by an even heavier feeling. Fury.

 _Who does he think he is?_ She wipes at the liquid in her eyes and flinches when the bell starts to ring. Lunch was finally over.

* * *

Like the previous day, Hana spent the rest of the school day battling thoughts of both Kagami and Kuroko. She also noticed that the feeling of being watched was severely lacking for some reason and took it as a sign of Kagami deciding to ignore her as well. The events from today's lunch were probably still weighing on his mind, but Hana felt less irritated about it now than she had earlier. And she had the incident in the hallway, afterward, to thank for that... In fact, if anyone looked at her the wrong way right now, she'd probably explode.

Packing her things, she didn't even bother to wait for Maika this time and merely said her goodbyes before exiting the classroom and starting down the hall. _That annoying hallway where that sleazebag had decided to toy with her_. Someone called her name, but she kept going, walking alongside the rest of the students that spilled down the stairs. At her locker, Ayumi came rushing up to her. "Hana-chan! Hey, didn't you hear me?"

With her shoes in her possession, she shut her locker and secured her school bag. Turned to go.

"Hana!"

A hand grabbed her arm and she turned around, scowled. " _What?"_

Ayumi blinked. "Wha-what's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter," she says, pulling her arm free. "What do you want? I have somewhere to go."

"Go? Go where?"

Hana lets out a sharp breath. "To the gym, Ayumi. I have to drop something off before going home, do some homework, and then go to work. Unless you want to drop off my cousin's phone for me?"

Ayumi stiffens, actually taken aback by Hana's tone. Her eyes cast downward.

Surprising her felt good. "Yeah, I didn't think so." As she turns away, she realizes she might've been taking her anger out on Ayumi for what had happened to her at lunch. But even that wasn't enough to stop her now. "Don't you have to go to your club or something? You ditched some days last week and the week before that. You're going to get kicked out if you're not careful."

"I wasn't going to ditch today," she tells her, shaking her head.

"That's good to hear."

As Hana continued her way toward the exit, Ayumi called out again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

 _I'm a lot of things at the moment. But no, Ayumi. I don't think I'm okay._

* * *

"Isn't she kind of dragging her feet?" Ami whispers.

The 26-year-old man continues to wipe down the counter as Ami tends to a customer at the register. "She looks fine to me," Oshima shrugged.

The time is 6:48 p.m. Nearly 3 hours into her 4-hour shift. Dumping the last of the trash cans into the bag Hana was wheeling around, she navigated around the shop patrons and made her way toward the back. She lugs the trash into the dumpster that resides behind the store and stumbles back when it's out of her hands, which are now shaking. She leans against the wall next to the back door and groans. She was regretting not taking a double dose of pain medication before leaving for work today. Taking two pills that morning had been enough to get her through school, but she'd been reluctant to take the same amount when getting home. The medicine's effects had been lingering as she'd done her homework, so taking a single pill had seemed like the right call at the time. But now, as she slumped against the wall with her limbs trembling in pain, she knew that it hadn't.

 _Is this stupid leg finally at its limit?_

She didn't want to stick around long enough to find out. Pulling herself together, she enters the restaurant again and does her best to look calm.

"Hey, Hana," Ami calls. The petite woman was handling a newly formed line of customers and looking tense. "Could you take care of a spill by the single tables? The evening rush came out of nowhere, so our hands are pretty full."

"I'm on it," Hana says. She pulls the mop and bucket out from the small utility closet and drapes a rag over her shoulder. Stepping back out, she was met with a lobby flooded with customers that seem to have arrived from within the woodwork of the store itself. She manages to wriggle through and get to the location of the spillage but is annoyed by what she finds. A whole milkshake's cheerfully awaiting her at the table, on its side and spilling onto the edge of the chair below. It's contents continue to cascade down the leg of the chair and has formed a small, sticky puddle on the floor. There're even some fries and globs of ketchup to finish it all off.

Hana sighs and picks up the fries from off the floor, then begins to slosh the scalding sanitized water from her red bucket with her mop. In the little space she had, she caught a few pitiful glances from customers in the surrounding area but kept a neutral expression as she went about her duties. _This is what you're here for,_ she reminded herself. _As long as you look busy, no one's going to bother you_. As she continued to mop and bend down to scrub the area, the throbbing in her right ankle became more intense, and she found herself grimacing as both hands gripped the mop handle for support. Her legs felt like jelly. Hot, prickly jelly.

"...Oh, what a waste." A familiar voice says.

Her shock is as evident as the look of panic on her face. _Wait, was that...? No. I must've imagined-_

"A good strawberry milkshake, gone."

 _"K-Kuroko-kun...?"_ Hana stutters. She glances around until she finally locates the blue-haired boy seated in the table directly behind her.

He blinks once. "Good evening, Iwasaki-san. Keep up the good work."

When did he-? How did he get by her without her noticing?

"Were you there the whole time?" She asks, feeling lightheaded again.

"Hm?" His lips separate from the straw of his vanilla milkshake. "No. I just arrived a few moments ago."

"O-oh, from basketball practice?" she guessed.

He nodded. "Yes. The coach was in a good mood today, so it ended much sooner than I'd expected."

Hana smiled nervously, recalling the conversation Riko had had with her cousin Rinnosuke, and the others. _That's because she's planning to make you work_ twice _as hard tomorrow..._

"How did you know I was talking about basketball?" he asks.

Hana blinked at that. How did she know? Well... "Ayumi," she says simply.

"That makes sense," he says, his tone neutral. He waits a beat before continuing. "Kagami-kun said he was stopping by the park for a little while today."

She gave him a startled look. "O-oh, I see. To get more practice in before the day ends?" His eyes widen a little. Because she'd been unconsciously staring at him, she looks away. _Why did he suddenly mention Kagami? Is it because I brought up Ayumi? Am I just being too sensitive?_

"Yes, that's right." Sneaking a glance, she notices that he's still looking at her, but something's different. His brow is pinched slightly. The same way as yesterday, when she'd bumped into him. Not angry. Just searching. "Are you okay, Iwasaki-san?"

Hana didn't even attempt to hide her surprise. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You seemed to be in a daze even from outside the restaurant."

"Wh-what...?" She starts, confused. _He was watching me from outside?_

"It's dangerous to be distracted while on the job. If you had been in the kitchen..."

"I'm fine," she says again. Smiles again. Though her expression was tinged by a surprising weariness.

"Are you sure?" he presses on.

She stands there watching as he continues to probe, to search her expression in fervent concentration. She tries to ignore her frustration but is too overwhelmed by the unwanted attention. Her mask begins to slip. "Wha-what? Why do you sound so worried? I'm-" As Hana steps back, her right leg gives way.

 _"Iwasaki-!"_

She nearly loses her footing on the water, but Kuroko grabs both her wrists in the nick of time, only causing her to drop the mop. The other customer's attention settled on the teenagers as they stood in the middle of the restaurant, surrounded by dirty mop water and Kuroko's vanilla milkshake, which had tipped over when he'd rushed to grab Hana. The two of them stared intensely at each other; Kuroko breathing heavily as he did so, his heart obviously still racing from the shock of what could've happened. Brows knit in concern at the girls' blank stare.

"Iwasaki-san...?" he asks breathlessly. "Are you alright?"

Snapping out of it, Hana's bottom lip began to quiver as her body began to catch up with the fright that had numbed her senses. Tears quietly trickled down her cheeks as she shook her head at the boy's question. "My leg. It hurts."

Kuroko opened his mouth to reply, but before he could press further, another employee rushed onto the scene. "Is everything all right? Did my fellow employee cause you any trouble?"

Less tense than he'd been before, Kuroko quickly shook his head and denied any of the woman's allegations. Glancing around him, the entire restaurant, which had been silently watching them until now, began to chatter amongst their selves in hushed voices. Kuroko only caught bits of the conversations as the woman speaking to him called over another employee to wipe up the mess, then offered Kuroko a free milkshake.

"Woah, that gave me a fright!"

"That boy was so quick to catch her, too!" One group even remarked.

"What was with that girl? Suddenly crying like that?"

"It was so unprofessional."

Kuroko frowned but tried not to pay attention to the onlooker's curiosity. He turned to Hana, who, while being distracted by the excited crowd, had been ushered away by another female employee without him noticing.

"Wait. Is she okay?"

"We'll let her rest for a while in the break room, so please don't worry about a thing." The older woman quickly replied. With a smile, she motioned for him to follow her around the team now wiping up the mess.

* * *

The meaty hands and beastly forearms of her shift supervisor fell on his lap as his hulking body sat in a chair beside her. He adjusts his white polo shirt over his 6'4" 300-pound frame and frowns. Oval glasses that are too small for him are pushed right up to his eyes, and on his forearm is a faded, black tattoo of a grizzly bear, reared up on its hind legs, roaring. This is Kawamura-san, Hana's shift supervisor.

"You're going to the hospital," he exhales heavily. She's worked here for almost two months now, but his voice is still never what she expects.

Hana, whose body is slumped against one of the chairs in the break room, shakes her head. "What? No, I said I'm fine."

"Hana, are you even thinking straight? What could've possessed you to think that you could come in to work on a sprained ankle like this?" One of his chubby fingers points down at her leg, where her shoe and ankle-high sock have been pulled off, putting her swollen ankle on full display. "Let alone _fill-in_ for somebody?"

"But I've been doing fine all day!" she insisted. "I just have an hour left. Let me stay until my shift is up-"

"And then what?" he interrupts hotly. "Let you cause another scene like that again? Not only did you risk your own safety out there, but you risked the safety of one of our customers as well. You've only been lucky till now that nothing has happened."

Her hands grip the fabric of her skirt in frustration. He was right. And the only reason she'd been pushing herself so much, was because she'd told Nishimura-san to leave this all to her. Even under so much pain, the thought of heading home early had never even crossed her mind. She'd simply resolved herself to push through it. Was that irresponsible of her to do?

She stares at the ankle resting on the seat in front of her and is reminded of a marmalade cat. Her face grows hot and she internally swears as she blinks back tears. _Stupid. Why are you thinking of Marmalade, now?_

Her supervisor shifts in his seat, and she watches as he wipes the sweat from his brow. Seeing one of his employees like this must've been more stressful than she'd realized, and Hana being a student probably didn't help the matter either. He'd been iffy about hiring her from the get-go, so being in this state was probably causing him to rethink her employment status. At that thought, Hana's heart started racing.

"I-I promise this won't happen again, sir," she began, her voice embarrassingly edgy. "Please. I'll show up tomorrow good as new. I-"

"Do you really think that ankle's going to heal overnight?" She jumps, and he exhales again. "You're not coming in to work tomorrow."

"Eh?"

"Or the rest of the week for that matter," he says. She stares at him confusedly. "That's including Saturday, okay? And you're still getting Monday and Tuesday off like usual."

 _A whole 7 days off?!_

As she opened her mouth to rebut, he rose from his chair. His tenor voice is rigid as stone. "You can make it up in vacation time. But for now, you're staying home until your leg's fully healed. Otherwise, I'm not letting you take a single step in this restaurant. Do I make myself clear?"

She could tell that he wasn't going to budge no matter what she said, so she reluctantly agrees and nods.

"Good. I've already clocked you out, so all you've gotta do is change and get someone to take you to the hospital." He wraps a hand around the doorknob and pauses at the door. "I'll get Ami to come and help you. Do you have anyone you could call to pick you up?"

Calling her parents wasn't an option, and she wasn't sure if a ride would be guaranteed if she called Maika on such short notice. That left calling her cousin Rinnosuke. But was that a really good idea? Calling him so late in the evening would only cause trouble since he was in charge of getting dinner ready. Plus, he'd probably insist she go to the hospital like her manager wanted. She'd only make him worry circles around her. As she continued to debate over who would be the appropriate choice, Kawamura-san called for Ami from the doorway and told her he'd take her place while she helped Hana get ready to leave.

She was being a nuisance, Hana realized. She smiled weakly as Ami appeared in the doorway with a worried look on her face. _I hate this. I hate this so much._

* * *

Back in her own clothes, Hana's inwardly panicking at not having decided on who to call yet. If she didn't hurry, then she'd have to settle for her shift manager and end up going to the hospital. But she definitely didn't want her hospital visit making a surprise appearance in her parents' bills, so she had to choose- _fast_.

"Is your ride gonna get here soon?" Ami asked her as she rose.

Hana nodded distractedly as she glanced through her Contacts List _. Shit. I have to hurry._ A muffled voice that they could barely identify as their shift manager's called for Ami from outside. Hana's panic only heightened as she left the room to go answer him.

"Okay, I'm calling Maika." As her thumb scrolls down to the 'M's', Ami's head pops in through the doorway.

"Hana, they're here to pick you up."

 _"Huh?"_ she blurts out.

"What do you mean 'huh'? I said they're here." Ami points over her shoulder as she pushes the door open wide enough to let them through. Hana's orange eyes meet the red ones of the male that walks in, and her jaw drops.

 _"K-Kagami-kun?"_

He looked as bewildered as she did at the moment. Nevertheless, he walks through the doorway. "Uh, you alright?" he asks sheepishly. His eyes settle on the leg being elevated by a separate chair, and he frowns. "Guess not."

"What are you doing here?" she finally manages to ask.

"That's what I wanna know," he mumbles under his breath. And somehow, the look on Kagami's face was enough to give her a fair idea of what was going on. They'd been set up. Big time. And it had Ayumi written all over it.

"I called him." A disembodied voice spoke.

Kagami screeched as he rushed away from the doorway, where a cool and collected Kuroko stood. "You bastard!" Kagami barked, struggling to catch his breath.

"How are you doing, Iwasaki-san?" Kuroko asks her, ignoring Kagami as he dealt with the mini heart attack beside him.

 _What the-? I don't- I don't get what's happening right now. Is Kuroko-kun behind all this?_

"What the hell's this about?" Kagami demanded regaining what he could of his composure. "I thought it was odd when you suddenly called me, telling me to rush over. But I did it anyways because I thought you were treating me or something. I should've known better since this is _you_ we're talking about!" He glared down at the blue-haired boy and grabbed the sides of his head as he shook him.

When he was done with the shake-up, Kuroko teetered away from him with some of his hair sticking up at odd angles. He was still swaying back and forth but aimed a look in Hana's direction. "I will, but only if you help me walk Iwasaki-san home."

The boy's deadpanned response triggerd a loud _**"WHAAAT?"**_ from them both, causing the restaurant itself and everyone residing within it to jump.

* * *

 **A/N:** Changed the dialogue between Hana and the student council member to something I thought fit his personality more -3- Other than that, chapter was mostly kept the same. Next chapter is the much needed alone time we've all been waiting for *v*


	6. Chapter 6

"So who are they exactly?" Ami asked, low enough for only the two of them to hear. She hadn't been expecting a second boy to be here after going to fetch some ice. And with the way everyone was arranged in the break room, she could've sworn she'd walked into the middle of a standoff.

"Uh... classmates?" As her coworker continued to strap the ice bag to Hana's ankle, she did her best to relax her posture, trying to not appear as flustered as she felt as she tried to overhear what the boys were saying. They had retreated to the opposite end of the room to converse in private a little while ago- With Kagami doing most of the talking (or, well, arguing to be more specific). He was still opposed to the whole thing after having been tricked, and even with the hushed tone he was using, most of what he was saying could be heard with little to no effort at all.

Hana couldn't really blame him for feeling the way he did. If someone had done the same to her she'd probably have reacted the same way. However, knowing that _she_ was the reason he was so agitated did cause her stomach to clench in an uncomfortable knot.

" _Just_ classmates? I find that a little hard to believe," Ami murmured skeptically. Hana didn't even have to look at her to sense the sly smirk on her lips. She'd obviously drawn to her own conclusions by now and was being unusually chipper about it. Forcing a smile, Hana's orange eyes zipped from the petite woman to the blue-haired teen a few feet away, who was now reaching out his hand.

"It'll be easier to carry her without your bag." He says easily, motioning for Kagami to hand it over.

" _Wait, what?_ Carry-!?" he sputtered.

Hana's eyes widened at Kuroko's words. The things coming out of his mouth were becoming more and more unpredictable. She didn't like that.

"You sure are popular, Hana. I'd tell you to get better, but I guess you'd prefer the opposite with these circumstances, huh?" Ami wriggled an eyebrow at Hana and chuckled lightly when she pressed her face in her hands, embarrassed. "She's set to go," she announced to the squabbling duo. She paused on her way out to pat Kagami on the back. "Make sure she gets home safe, okay?"

Hana peered through her fingers and watched as a light pink formed on his cheeks. _"Y-yes, ma'am,"_ he choked out. She giggled before finally exiting the room, and it was back to being the three of them again.

"Iwasaki-san." Hana let out a small _eep!_ and jumped back against her seat. The action had her wincing as she grasped her lower leg, though the ice did a good job of numbing the pain. "I'm sorry," Kuroko quickly apologized. His voice might've sounded monotone, but the look in his eyes seemed genuinely concerned.

"It's okay," she insisted, waving a hand. "The ice helps a lot, so no worries."

He smiles weakly before turning to Kagami behind him. "We should get going."

The redhead's hard expression eased slightly. There didn't seem to be much fight left in him after talking to Ami. "All right. I'll do it."

Noticing him move closer, she glances away. "Y-you don't have to."

"Huh?"

"I-I mean. I'd feel really bad since you seem so reluctant about it," Hana began to admit.

"But he's already here," Kuroko deadpanned. "And you don't have anyone else who you could call, right?"

Hana grew silent. Where did that come from...?

"I said I'd do it, so why are you complaining now?" Kagami muttered, bunny brows furrowing as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I-I'm not complaining!"

"It doesn't sound like it to me!"

"But you were the one who was-"

 _"Just hurry up and let me carry you!"_ he bellowed, throwing his arms up in frustration. Ah, so there was some fight left.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again as he turned his reddening face away from her. Maybe it wasn't that he was so much _against_ it, but that he was nervous about it...? As his lips trembled and the flush raced to the tips of his ears, Hana did her best to fight back a blush of her own.

"Please calm down," Kuroko sighed. His no-nonsense expression signaling he was just about done with their quarrel. "Let's just get her home, okay?"

* * *

The moment Kagami scooped Hana into his arms in a bridal style carry, everything around her seemed to be moving in slow motion, as though life had become a Dali painting. Emerging from the break room, many of the customers (and even some of her coworkers) had all taken a moment to stop and stare as they walked past. She could hear murmurs from the strangers- and from behind the counter, an exaggerated whistle from whom she suspected was Oshima-kun. _I'm going to kill him later,_ she promised herself. Kuroko led the way with two school bags slung from both shoulders, and Hana's purse in one hand- taking on the job of a pack mule after insisting it would be easier for Kagami to carry Hana without it. He held the door open for the two of them as they finally made it away from all the eyes and into the cool night air outside.

Unfortunately, the light breeze that met her face wasn't enough to ease her racing heart like she'd hoped. As they headed toward the corner, Hana became more aware of the muscles of Kagami's arm through the sleeves of his uniform. His breath tickled one of her bare arms that wrapped around his neck as he breathed. She could smell the faint traces of sweat and deodorant on his skin. And to make matters worse, she could feel the drumming of his heart beating openly and intimately against her own. This was the first time Hana had ever been carried by someone of the opposite sex. And by the rhythm coming from his chest, she had a slight suspicion that Kagami's reluctance from earlier might've been due to his own inexperience as well.

"S-something on my face?" Kagami asked, clearly startling Hana. She felt her breathing slip yet again as she saw the splash of red enveloping his cheeks.

"N-no! I, uh, was just wondering why we didn't slip through the back door to avoid all of those people..." Lying to him sort of felt a little thrilling for her. Maybe because she'd been shamelessly taking in the sight of him a mere second ago?

The warmth in his cheeks dissipates then. _"We could've done that!?"_

She hesitates. "Y-yeah. I mean, we could've avoided all of the attention that way."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"C-could you blame me?" She was so close to him that she could see her panicked expression reflect against his crimson hues. "I-I couldn't exactly think straight at the time! How could I, right!?" As soon as she said it her eyes cut to the left. _Idiot! Just what the hell are you saying!?_ She dared to glance up at him again, and immediately wondered if he was blushing because he'd felt the same way, or because of the way she'd responded to him just now. She wanted to guess the latter, but the first one seemed just as probable.

"Kagami-kun," rang Kuroko's voice. _"Kagami-kun."_

The redhead jolted, and Hana's body bounced helplessly in his arms. She tightened her grip around his neck in fear that he'd drop her but was pleasantly surprised when he'd reacted in the same manner. Thankfully, they had Kuroko to remind them they weren't alone. _"Wh-what?_ You say something, Kuroko?"

The shorter boy merely pointed ahead. "The crossing signal. We can cross the street now."

"Oh. Right." Locking his eyes forward, he hurried across the street until they were back on the sidewalk.

"You're going too fast," Kuroko called after them. He has to jog a little to keep up.

"You're just too slow."

"I'm aware of that," he says blandly, lifting both arms to remind him of everything he was carrying. "But that's not the point. You're carrying an injured person, remember? If you're not careful, you might end up hurting her yourself."

Hana's head bobbed against Kagami's shoulder as he came to a stop and glared behind him. "Th-than if you're so good at it, why don't you do it?"Hana couldn't see Kuroko from her position until he suddenly walked past them, careful to avoid her legs. At the cold shoulder, Kagami clucked his tongue, annoyed. "So is that why you called me out of the blue? You couldn't carry her yourself, so you had to drag me over here instead?"

"If I recall, you walked to Maji Burger on your own," he says quietly, his face carefully blank. "I don't recall any dragging taking place."

 _"Y-y-y-y-you bastard!"_

Her body tensed up as the male's attitude changed. He was obviously annoyed- mad even, but the faint flush that continued to burn across his cheeks didn't waver, and the veins on his forehead looked like they were going to explode as well. As though sensing her stares, Kagami's gaze focused on her and the blush seemed to radiate even brighter. Especially since their noses were so noticeably close in that moment. _Why's this guy so embarrassed?_ she wondered, almost annoyingly. _Why's he so conscious of me? I mean, this is_ **me** _we're talking about._ The more she thought about it, the stronger the butterfly's wings in her stomach flapped. If anyone had told her that the boy she'd been watching from her window would be carrying her so intimately a few months ago, she would've laughed in their face. But now that it was happening, she could barely even think straight.

 _"Whoa!"_ The two teenagers wobbled as Kagami side-stepped, and Hana was forced out of her thoughts.

"Ah, that was close," Kuroko murmured. His arm slowly fell back to his side. "I'd nearly forgotten you were carrying, Iwasaki-san."

 _"You were seriously going to hit me just now, weren't you!?"_

A pause. "Like I said. My mistake."

"Why, you-!"

Hana watched as the two of them butted heads: like a riled up dog, and a devious cat. _Have they always acted like this?_ She thought about it, but couldn't really recall a moment where the two of them were acting out in the classroom. And the fact that she'd barely discovered they were in her class _at all_ didn't really help either. In fact, now that her mind was somewhat clear, she realized that she barely knew anything about the boys assisting her at all. _Why are they doing this anyway? Is this really okay?_ She asked herself. Why had she accepted their help again? She hadn't really had a choice in the matter now did she?

That was when another thought came to mind.

"Hold on," Hana spoke aloud, forcing the pair to abruptly stop. "I don't remember ever telling you where I lived..." She glanced questioningly up at Kagami and saw the corner of his mouth twitch. Because of the question or because she'd looked at him?

"If I recall, wasn't it in the same building from the other night?" Kuroko asked her. "The apartment buildings above the convenience store?"

Hana blinked. So he _did_ know where they were going.

"You mean the convenience store across the park?" Kagami asks. Hana flinches, and for a moment, she wonders if he'll mention the events of the night of their first encounter. Instead: "I was _just_ there," he sighed, annoyed by the sudden trip back.

False alarm.

Kuroko continued, "You didn't have anyone who could pick you up because you live alone, right?"

Hana's heart took a small dive. "H-how did you know?"

"Makabe-san," he said simply, mimicking the same tone she'd used back in the restaurant. Orange eyes looked at him in surprise (partly due to his response, but also for the way he'd copied her just now). Kuroko merely kept facing ahead as he walked. "She told us about it during lunch."

Ayumi, did? Maika had failed to mention _that._ But if that were the case, than what else had she told them?

"Oh, that girl," Kagami muttered under his breath. Hana would've missed it if she hadn't felt his chest hum as he spoke. "Was she the girl with long hair?" he asked, addressing Kuroko.

"Kagami-kun, you should really remember people's names when they speak to you."

 _"I-it's not my fault!"_ he blurted defensively, his volume increasing. That ended up scaring the bejesus out of a man beside them. He managed an apology before letting him walk by, then looked ahead and saw that a couple was giving them odd looks as well. They stiffened and smiled nervously before going on their way, their pace noticeably faster than it had before. Hana bit her lip to suppress the unexpected giggle but failed to keep her shoulders from shrugging. Kagami, of course, noticed this and did his best to act as though he hadn't. He was a terrible actor, though. "She talks too fast and it's hard to keep up," Kagami grumbled.

"Makabe-san asked to join us to lunch today," Kuroko reminded him. "And Nozomu-san is the girl with glasses and a ponytail. They're Iwasaki-san's friends." He gestured to Hana.

Kagami's chest hummed against her again. "Iwasaki..."

Hana catches herself before being swept up by butterflies for a second time. _Wait, don't tell me he still hasn't memorized my name?_

"By the way, Iwasaki-san," Kuroko says, drawing her attention. He glanced over his shoulder at her as they walked. "I've been meaning to ask, but is there a reason why Makabe-san seems so intent in being friends?"

Hana felt herself frown.

"Not that I mind it," Kuroko quickly added.

Kagami shuddered. "The way she appears from out of nowhere is almost scarier than Kuroko."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said!"

Hana gave a hesitant laugh. "Ayumi's just weird that way," she says, with a careless shrug that she couldn't quite pull off. Of course they'd wonder what that was all about. I mean, who _wouldn't_ notice the sudden presence of Ayumi in their midst? Hana had been so distracted by the trouble she'd caused at work- and this strange course of events- that she'd actually forgotten all that had happened in the past few days. Hadn't she resolved herself to face them at the soonest opportunity? She'd missed her chance to do so at school _(_ with **him** showing up and all during lunch), and had even allowed herself to get into a really foul mood... She had to clear the air and bring all of their misunderstandings to light; Now that she was finally alone with them and Ayumi wasn't buzzing around her head. But what was she supposed to tell them? That Ayumi was on a mission to hook her and Kagami up? That _that_ was the reason she'd decided to leech onto the duo? And if they asked her where she'd gotten the motivation for that in the first place, was she supposed to tell them that it was because she'd stupidly told her about the night she'd fallen down the stairs? That because she'd delved into detail with Maika that the misunderstanding that she was attracted to Kagami got out of control?

"Iwasaki-san," Kuroko calls, startling the frizzy-haired female out of her warring inner thoughts. Hana's eyes searched for him in a slight panic, before discovering that he'd maneuvered himself to Kagami's right, next to her legs. He craned his neck forward so that she could meet his glacial gaze. "You're too tense. You're going to hurt your ankle more if you don't relax."

"Oh, okay." She hadn't realized till now how tense she'd been in Kagami's arms. Managing a shaky breath, she willed herself to calm down enough to ease her weary muscles and noticed that the toes of her feet had been curled this entire time. Hana couldn't help wondering what Kagami had thought of her as she'd been lost in her thoughts. Or Kuroko for that matter. And she couldn't really understand why she was so afraid, either. Where had all of her confidence gone?

 _Just calm down,_ she ordered. _It doesn't seem like I was talking aloud this time... Stop freaking out._

"It's okay if you don't know," Kuroko spoke after some time.

"What? Seriously?" Kagami arches a brow at her. "How could you not know? She's always talking about you, too."

"Because I don't," Hana tells him, noticeably upset that he'd continued to prod. She just couldn't bring herself to talk about it yet. "I wasn't even around when she was talking to you, so how was I supposed to know what she was talking about?"

Kagami's eyes widened at her sharp tone. Then narrowed quickly after that. "But you're friends. Shouldn't you- I don't know, ask her why she's acting like that?"

Wait.

"Like how?" she snapped.

Stop.

"Like... _like a pest."_

Hana gritted her teeth. _"Then why don't you just ask her that yourself, huh?"_

Kagami blinked at her, totally unprepared for the attitude she'd tossed heatedly back.

She gasped.

Needlessly getting angry, snapping at him for no reason... _He didn't do anything wrong, so why did I get so pissed?_

 _ **BAM**_

Hana's heart nearly shot out of her chest as she clenched her arms around the boy she'd just been arguing with in fright. Kagami looked ahead of them in shock. _"K-Kuroko!?"_

The blue-haired boy's head had collided against a lamp-post. He stood there, trembling from the collision as the resounding echo of the metal pole reverberated around them. He didn't react until a few seconds later when his hand pressed against his head and he slumped forward in a stunned silence. As Hana struggled to find her voice, Kagami let out a snort and began to shake uncontrollably. She looked to him for answers but realized he'd turned away and was fighting a smile, his cheeks puffed out to contain his laughter.

"It isn't funny, Kagami-kun," Kuroko uttered. Despite sounding composed, his body was still slumped over in pain. What was with the Deja vu?

Unable to contain himself any longer, Kagami broke out into a fit of laughter. _"Oh man! I can't believe you just did that! Are you serious!?"_

Kuroko forced himself to stand up straight. "You were both arguing, and I got distracted..."

 _"Eh?_ Weren't your eyes open? You're still supposed to look ahead when you walk!"

Hana wanted to go on staring but managed to bring herself around. "Are you okay, Kuroko-kun?"

His hand remained pressed against his forehead as he turned and nodded. "I'm fine." And then quickly began to walk again. "Let's keep going."

"Are you sure?" Kagami asked, unable to control his lips from curving. "You might have a bump."

"I said I'm okay."

"All right, then~" And with that, the conversation was over.

Her temper from earlier subsiding now chunk by chunk, Hana stared at the boy's back as he led the way. Though she didn't feel as antsy as she did a few moments ago, still remaining pressed up against Kagami as he carried her didn't make her feel any less awful either. _And you were acting like such an airhead a few minutes ago, too,_ she chastised, recalling how stupidly she'd blushed at Kagami's every word. What a laugh. But the questions he'd asked her hadn't been wrong. Weren't they the same ones _she'd_ been asking _herself_ for the past few months?

 _I'm such a hypocrite..._

Hana lowered her eyes and released an arm from around his neck, letting it drop to her waist. She was exhausted, sore, and frustrated. These were obviously all factors that caused people to make irrational, and impulsive decisions. But being logical about it now wasn't going to solve anything. They'd only sound like excuses if she said them aloud.

"And Kagami-kun," Kuroko said, breaking the silence they'd maintained until now. "You shouldn't say such things about somebody's friends."

Kagami's fingers flinched against Hana's back and legs.

The blue-haired boy turned to look at him with a small frown on his face. "You were being rude to both her and Iwasaki-san."

"Er... Sorry about that..." he says meekly.

It took Hana a second to realize he was speaking to her. "Y-you don't have to apologize! Ayumi really is a pest," she blurted out. The laugh wasn't quite muffled as he whirled his face away from her, and Hana felt her expression go blank. "H-huh?"

Then she heard Kuroko let out a stifled laugh of his own, and Hana was left in the dark. Were they all in mutual agreement about this? She just couldn't get a read on these two...

"But, if anyone should be apologizing, it's me," the frizzy-haired girl mumbled. "You're doing this for me, and I... I'm just being a big nuisance."

"You're wrong," Kuroko says. They shared a moment of eye contact and she sees no deception in his pale blue eyes. "You aren't a nuisance at all."

"Says the guy who isn't carrying her," Kagami muttered under his breath.

The small jab causes Hana to glance up at him nervously. "I knew it. I really am heavy..."

 _"What!?_ N-no! I didn't say you were!"

Well _that_ reaction was unexpected.

And so was the curl at the corners of her lips.

"That wasn't what it sounded like to me," Kuroko chimed in.

 _"Wha-?_ No!"

This time it was Kuroko and Hana who laughed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Writing this chapter made me feel happy. No other comment than that :)


	7. Chapter 7

The subject of Ayumi was dropped after Kuroko's collision with the lamp-post, and Hana didn't try to think much after that. 'Try' being the key word here. The only thing really distracting her, though, was the bottle of pain meds that she had stored in her kitchen cabinet. They were calling her name, their voice growing louder and louder with each passing minute. The ice pack that was strapped to her ankle was melting faster than predicted, so the pain it had been suppressing till now was making its way up her body; an unwelcomed addition to a growing headache. It had been stupid to try and ignore the state her leg had been in at work. But instead of badgering herself about it, she tried to let the constant motion of Kagami's body as he walked lull her mind into a semi-conscious state. She was _so_ exhausted.

Closing her eyes to rest them for a moment, she sighed.

"You okay?"

Stirred by the deep voice, Hana's head separates from the male's broad shoulder. "S-sorry!"

Surprisingly, he looked unfazed by their close proximity. The stuttering mess he'd been in a while ago, now in odd contrast to his current demeanor. "You're tired," he says. It's not a question.

Her mouth is sticky and dry, but she answers. "Yeah. It's been... _It's been a really long day,"_ she breathes out.

There's a flash of a smile. "Yeah, it has. But you don't have to worry anymore, cuz we're finally at your place."

Lifting her head, she sees the familiar trees that surround the park suddenly appear beside the sidewalk, obscuring the moon above them. As they crossed the street and approached the 3-story building, Kuroko handed Hana her purse and stepped toward the convenience store. "I'm going to pick up some things first. You'll be okay, Kagami-kun?"

Before Hana could say anything, Kagami nodded. "I got it."

The blue-haired boy grinned, amused by the change in his friend's attitude throughout the evening. He looked at Hana. "On which floor is your apartment?"

"O-on the second floor. It's the one right next to the stairway, so you can't miss it."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

And with that, Kagami readjusts Hana in his arms before starting toward the stairs. "A-are you sure, Kagami-kun?"

He lifts an eyebrow. "Of what? You think I can't handle this, either?"

"No! I just- _whoa-!"_ Her body swayed back and forth at his steps, and she panics at how high she's off the ground with the addition of Kagami's height. It was silly since she wasn't afraid of heights in the first place, but in her anxious mind she imagines herself on a tightrope, prompting her to grab onto him for dear life. And as she does just that, she's met with the sound of a chuckle.

"Relax. If I couldn't handle this much, don't you think I would've dropped you by now?"

"I-is that supposed to be comforting!?"

"Eh? Are you seriously scared?"

She was. He was bounding up the flight of stairs so quickly, Hana was beginning to doubt he was human at all. Did all basketball players have this crazy amount of stamina? He'd been carrying her this entire time, so shouldn't his arms be in complete agony? This guy was unreal!

Luckily for Hana, Kagami's long legs got her to the second floor in record speed. Walking toward her doorway, he calls in a nonchalant way: "Special delivery!"

They're met with silence before she reminds him, "...I live alone, remember?"

"A-ah! I forgot."

She caught herself smiling as she retrieves her keys from her purse. It was a silly thing to feel giddy about, but it almost brought a sense of familiarity between the two of them. As if they were close enough to let each other's families know that they'd walked the other one home... Rolling her eyes at the obsurdity of where her imagination was taking her, she manages to unlock her door and open it to reveal familiar territory. Finally, the finish line.

"You can let me down now."

Kagami hesitated at that. "Are you sure?"

She nods, eager to take things from here. The sudden readjustment to gravity, however, makes her head spin. When her good leg meets the ground first, she finds herself wobbling a bit as she tries to keep herself from putting too much pressure onto her swollen ankle.

"Hey, careful!" he says worriedly.

Hana stays upright with Kagami's steady arm around her waist, the ring dangling from his neck lightly bouncing off her cheek from having rushed forward. When the side of her foot presses against the door, she drew a sharp breath.

"Here, I'll help you get inside." He reached forward, having seen an outline of the light switch, and squinted his eyes a little once the lights were turned on. Hana's gaze dropped to the floor, then suddenly back up to her ceiling. He'd scooped her into his arms again and muttered, "Excuse me," as he carried her through the entrance and past the small kitchen. Making his way into the living room, he uses his elbow to turn on the rest of the lights, preventing himself from tripping over a coffee table before gently placing the girl onto a soft couch.

Still cringing from the pain, Hana watches in curiosity as the teenager began to collect the cushions from the armchair beside them. "What are you doing?"

"If we don't elevate your leg it's going to get worse," Kagami said warily. "Here, you should put this behind your back, too." He motioned for her to sit up, and then positioned the cushions behind her. Her ankle may have been hurting, and her head throbbing, but the boy that had swooped in to assist her had her staring back in fascination. "Um..."

Hana flinched. She realizes he's on his knees now and looking at her. "Y-yes?"

"I'm... I'm going to put some cushions under your legs, so" -he scratches the back of his neck in mild embarrassment.

"O-oh! Sure, go ahead." By now, even the headache has been momentarily forgotten. One of his arms slips under her bare legs, careful to avoid her injury as he lifts them up and slips the cushions beneath her in one swift motion. Once the deed was done, he gives them one final inspection before dropping his head and giving a sigh of relief. The composure he'd been keeping till now vanished. Even her suspicions of him being inhuman were proven wrong when he began to stretch his aching arms, and groan as he cracked his neck in several places. He was dead-tired.

"Sorry, Kagami-kun."

"Again?" he murmured. He huffed out a small breath before resting an elbow against the glass coffee table behind him, and smirked. "It's no big deal. I said I could handle it, and I did, right?"

Hana's heart tightened in her chest. "Yeah, you did. Thank you for that."

He gives a faint wave of his hand before repositioning himself on the floor, letting his eyes wander around the room for the first time. He'd been so preoccupied with helping her that he'd nearly forgotten where it was he'd walked into.

 _My house. He's in my house._

Hana's fingers nervously intertwine in her lap as she stares at him. He looked so out of place sitting in the corner of her tiny living room. Surrounded by soft colored furniture, and facing a dish filled with sweet-scented potpourri on the coffee table. Just seeing him in her home at all was like trying to attach a puzzle piece to a crossword puzzle.

"Oh, crap!"

 _"Wh-what?"_ Hana asked.

"I forgot to take off my shoes before coming in here!"

She watches as his eyes whip behind him in horror, as if measuring the distance he'd walked from the main entrance to where he was now. Hana looked on in amusement. "It's kind of too late to be worrying about that now, don't you think?"

"Eh? Uh, y-yeah." He gives an awkward chuckle before absently reaching behind him and scratching his back, unsure of what to do with himself or where he should look. "I wonder what's taking Kuroko so long," he grumbled, but mostly to himself. "I don't think he mentioned anything about what he was getting, either..."

"I don't think he did," Hana murmured. Her head ached dully as she tried to relax against the couch. "But he said he'd be right back."

"I guess." Kagami's brow furrows in annoyance as he hunches over, letting his elbow dig into his thigh.

Why _had_ he gone to the convenience store? Hana wondered. Weren't they just supposed to drop her off? She glances up at the polka-dotted clock that hung on the wall above her. 7:35 p.m., she noted. There was a teenage boy sitting in her living room, and it was getting late. He couldn't have left them alone on purpose...?

When nerves began to bubble, she ordered herself to get a grip.

"K-Kuroko-kun said that you were at the park earlier," she babbled out, trying to fill the silence that loomed between them.

He looked at her, surprised. "Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, um, when we were at the restaurant," she explained. She hated the pounding of her racing heart. "He said you wanted to practice more since basketball ended so early."

He merely lifted a brow. "That's pretty random."

"Y-yeah, I thought so too." Even with her head lowered, the blush that warmed her cheeks was still visible. This was so awkward.

"Um, I wanted to ask earlier...," He began, but then lost himself in his thoughts. She could hear the indecision in his voice as he trailed off, the uncertainty.

"What is it?" she asked weakly, feeling her heart jump to her throat.

Blinking, he just looked at her for a long second, then looked away.

Something told her to push. "What?"

"Ugh... How did you end up like this?" He asked, his voice low, gentle. His eyes were soon drawn to her leg. "I mean, I know it isn't any of my business, but..."

Hana's mind flashed with images of the other day. A marmalade cat that had waited for her at the shelter. A former bully from junior high who continued to look down on her. A blur of red that had spooked her in the bento aisle, and a boy who had saved her from a harsh tumble down the stairs. Her leg had only been sore then, but because she'd been so careless with the injury, it had ended up in the state it was now.

She didn't even know where to begin. "Um, it was..." She hesitated as if she couldn't decide if she should continue or not. "It was an accident..."

"Was Kuroko with you when it happened?" Kagami asked carefully.

"I was talking to him," she explained and tucked a short curl behind her ear, "while I was mopping up a mess from across his table. But I slipped on the water and Kuroko-kun caught me."

"Really? That's it?" He seemed a little surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... To have an injury like that from just slipping on water..."

"Th-that's because I've been hurting for a while," she confessed. "But I've been so busy, that I couldn't take the time to properly treat it. I just sort of kept hoping it would get better on its own. Stupid, right?" Her hand subconsciously reaches up to her head, anxiously awaiting his pity or judgment. But it never came. After a few more seconds of silence, she glances at him. Kagami hadn't moved, but his vision had been focused elsewhere as if he were thinking deeply about something or remembering… "Kagami-kun?"

"You were with Kuroko, then, too," he murmurs, meeting her eyes at last.

Her pulse spiked. "Huh?"

"And I... I bumped into you that time." He shakes his head and looks down at his lap, seeming to have finally remembered what had happened a few days ago. It feels as though Hana's body momentarily paralyzes. "I scared you and you ran off... And then... you were with Kuroko at the bottom of the stairs." Silently, the dots began to connect in his head. "Was... was that why you fell? You're ankle ended up like this because of-"

"N-no!" she cries out. She was instantly sitting up and waving her hands, shaking her now pounding head. This was what she'd been afraid of- this was what she'd wanted to prevent. Him blaming himself. Him misunderstanding. "I-it's not like that!"

"It isn't...?"

"Not at all! Th-that night, I was really upset because of what had happened earlier that day. It wasn't because of you, I swear! It was because Inohara was with Marmalade. Because I had left Marmalade behind. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I'd tuned everything out and was just surprised when you suddenly spoke to me. It wasn't your fault at all. It was 'cause of my crummy mood that I ran off like an idiot!" Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her chest felt uncomfortable, as if a dog was playing tug-of-war against her and her chest was pulling back. She wasn't even aware of what had begun to roll down her cheeks until it reached her lips; it tastes salty.

His arms flailed about as he stared at her with a shocked expression. "Wh-why are you crying? Was it something I said?"

Her hands rub at her face. "I-It wasn't! I just don't want you to think it was your fault, 'cause it wasn't!"

"O-okay! I got it!" Kagami stammered. He was a fumbling mess as he tried to comprehend what it was that he had done wrong. But the tears that dripped from her eyes were like kryptonite to him, and he throws himself down on all fours as buckets of sweat drip down his face. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to upset you. I mean, I guess now that you've explained it- not for the other night, but for now instead? I mean- _ugh, I'm just sorry okay!?"_

Her face feels hot and she moves her hand to hold her forehead. Her brain was beginning to ache again. She looks down at his bent over form, and pushes against the corner of the couch, wishing she could dissolve into the furniture right then and there. This wasn't at all what she'd imagined when she'd planned to confront him about everything thus far. She'd reacted like a complete lunatic. Like she'd been backed into a corner. If she'd known she was going be hysterical, she'd have preferred to have avoided him altogether. What a mess.

The frizzy-haired girl sniffs and drags her palm across her cheek. There was still a whole list of things that she had to talk to him about: like the whole thing with Ayumi and the phone numbers, or that time she'd caught him staring at her to name a few. But she just couldn't work up the courage to bring any of it up.

 _Why are you hesitating again? What are you so afraid of?_

Hana's head swam with anger and humiliation and just plain fatigue. Her arms wrap around her stomach and she stares down at her knees. Then begins to breathe deeply.

"Iwasaki-san?"

Her heart leapt, but she maintained her measured breathing as she looked up. Kuroko had been standing in front of the opened doorway for who knows how long. And now, as he stepped inside, the lights that illuminated his face showed a serious expression, one tinged with worry. "Where's-?"

"K-Kuroko! What the hell took you so long!?" Kagami was so relieved that his words gushed and tripped over each other. He was instantly on his feet, though still visibly shaken by what had occurred, and ran over to him. "You've got some nerve-!"

"Did something happen?" Kuroko cut in. Not even Kagami's steady stream of chatter could cut through the tension in the room, and the ginger instantly stiffened.

"Ugh...um..."

"Nothing did," Hana said softly but urgently. She was already shaking her head in protest. "I was trying to convince Kagami-kun that I could do things on my own. But then I moved a bit too suddenly, and the tears just sort of happened. Right, Kagami-kun?"

"R-right."

 _I'm sorry,_ she told him, hoping that in some way her thoughts could reach him. _You didn't have anything to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong..._

For a moment, Kuroko pursed his lips, as if assessing the situation."I see..."

No, he didn't look the least convinced at all, but she worked around it. "Did you get what you needed?" Hana asked, absently wiping at her eye. "You were taking a while."

For a second, she thought that he would push his question again. She could tell that he wanted to. Instead, he gave a curt nod. "It was actually stuff that I thought you might need, Iwasaki-san."

As he removed his shoes at the entrance, Kagami remained awkwardly by, once again unsure of himself and what it was he should be doing. He opted for recovering his school bag from Kuroko so that he'd have something to distract his hands. "So... That's why you went to the store?" he asked him though the question itself sounded hollow somehow. Suddenly he seemed really interested in whatever it was his shorter friend had bought.

Hana was interested as well.

Setting his own school bag aside on the floor, he left the front door open as he carried the plastic bag with him toward Hana in the living room. He was studying her openly and intently again; in that way that she found so intrusive. She swallowed and tried to focus her attention on the bag instead. Her face still felt a little sticky from crying, but she hoped to God that she didn't look as disheveled as she felt.

"I bought bandages and some medicine in case you were feeling pain," Kuroko told her. He set the bag on the coffee table by the potpourri plate and waited for a response.

Hana's eyes widened. "Y-you didn't have to do that. I thought you were just dropping me off..."

"I know. But it didn't feel right to just leave you like this," he said. He brought out the bandages and grabbed the medicine. "I'd have preferred it if you went to a doctor, honestly. But that's why you felt so uncertain about who to call for help, right? You didn't want to worry your parents because you live alone."

Disbelief caught whatever else was going to leave her mouth, and she sat there, staring at him.

As he began to unravel the roll of bandages, he glanced at her and noticed her expression- Could see her thought process. "Ah, Nozomu-san was the one who mentioned that," he explained. "That you don't like to worry your parents, I mean."

This time the flow of thoughts and theories that had culminated in her head came to an abrupt halt. Maika again?

"Are you in any pain?"

He was looking her way. "Pain?"

"You said that you'd moved unnecessarily..." he murmured, reminding her of the excuse she'd given him for crying.

The splitting headache rippled through the left side of her head as if on cue, and her hand flew up to press against it. At least she couldn't lie about that.

"Kagami-kun."

Said redhead shifts in his seat at the kitchen table, where he'd apparently decided to hang back and observe from a safe distance. "Yeah?"

"Could you get a glass of water for Iwasaki-san?" Kuroko asked him, looking over his shoulder. "She'll need it for the medicine."

"Th-there's water bottles on the counter," Hana says meekly. With her head down, she remained silent as she listened to Kagami's footsteps walking around the kitchen, and the sound of the plastic wrap being ripped open as he reached for a fresh bottle through pounding eardrums. As much as it compelled her to see him standing in her own kitchen, she managed to resist the urge to look up.

"Are you okay?" Hana's eyes zipped to Kuroko beside her. She noticed that he'd finished unpackaging the bandages and was hovering by her injury. He started to move his arm out, but then stopped as though he thought better of it. "Should we wait for you to take the medicine before I bandage it up?"

"Bandage...? You don't have to."

"But I've already bought them," he said, waving them in his hand.

A part of her still felt guilty about all this. "Yeah, but I mean, I've already taken up enough of your time. I don't want to be-"

 _"You're not,"_ he interrupted.

 _You're not a nuisance,_ she swore she heard him say.

Something in her expression seemed to soften at his words. And stupidly, she felt the backs of her eyes fill with heat again. Tired, she told herself. She was just tired, that was all. Hana sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to soothe away the headache and whatever tears were left. "Okay."

Kuroko visibly relaxed and nodded. With her permission, he removed her shoes and began to wrap the gauze around her tender ankle.

His hands were bigger than she'd expected, but felt different from Kagami's. They weren't as calloused as Kagami's hands. The fingers were long and bony. Strong, yet gentle all at the same time. Watching the way his hands moved with such consideration made her feel some of the tension ease from between her shoulders. It seemed as though he was experienced in treating injuries like this. Then she remembered that the boy in front of her was on the basketball team, and had probably had to care for similar injuries on more than one occasion. Him doing this was just him being considerate. It wasn't anything special.

"Here's the water."

Kagami came up beside them and held out the water bottle and medicine for her. Still feeling self-conscious and embarrassed about earlier, Hana manages to give her thanks before taking a small swig of water and gulping the medicine down. Staying carefully quiet, Kagami walked back to the kitchen table. He set his bag aside, but didn't sit. Hana could feel his eyes on her.

"Are you hungry?" Kuroko asked.

Hana was in too much of a daze to catch the question. "Huh?"

Kuroko got up and reached for the bag on the coffee table. There seemed to be something bigger left in the bag, and when he reached in to take it out, Hana's eyes widened.

"Wh-what? _N-no way."_

"You don't want it?"

Hana shook her head and hands in front of her in a panic. "I-I couldn't."

"But it's the same as the one you spilled the other night," Kuroko murmured. He looked down at the label as though to double check. "Was I wrong?"

 _"Bento?"_ Kagami asked. His mouth was practically watering as he eyeballed the food.

Kuroko ignored him. "I could get you a different one if you'd like."

"If you don't want it, I'll take it," Kagami offered shamelessly.

She smiled nervously. "I-It's fine, but I mean- I...I couldn't possibly accept-"

"You can't take the medicine without having something to eat," he told her, not backing down.

Her gut twisted. Not in an unsettling kind of way, but something close to butterflies. A nameless sort of feeling.

Reluctantly, Hana accepted it.

Kuroko smiled and took a step back. "Good. Well, I hope you feel better. We'll be taking our leave now."

In the process of opening the container, Hana glanced at her ankle and noticed that he was already done. The bandage was wrapped firmly to support her ankle, but was loose enough for her to move it without any trouble.

"Are we seriously done now?" Kagami asked him, raising a suspicious brow toward his teammate. He slung his school bag over his shoulder and eagerly followed behind him. "'Cause I haven't eaten yet, and you owe me, remember?"

"You don't have to remind me," Kuroko murmured. He was already by the entrance and putting on his shoes.

"Wait," Hana spoke.

She watched Kagami's shoulders jump slightly in response, showing just how nervous he'd become at the sound of her voice. Strangely enough, seeing him avoid looking at her- despite her having done the same earlier- made her falter. Kuroko, on the other hand, shifted his full attention in a snap. "Yes?"

 _Crap._ She could scarcely think. Her brain was muddled. Why did she feel the need to call out?

"I..." She stared at the two of them as she searched for something to say. Anything that could keep them here for a moment longer. So that she could fix things. So that things wouldn't be left the way they were now. Despite all the time she'd spent psyching herself up to put all of their misunderstandings to rest- to break off this weird relationship that she had with Kagami- seeing him act like this was harder than she would've expected.

It made no sense.

Sure enough, something akin to worried guilt must've crossed her face because Kuroko began to step toward her.

"I... If you're going to go to Maji Burger, tell them about the 50% discount."

Kagami's eyes widened. Hana felt a shaky breath escape her lungs.

"Discount?" Kuroko asked.

"I-it's an employee discount. Ami should still be at the counter... Actually, I think everyone would recognize you at this point..." The scene at the restaurant replayed in her mind and she felt her smile stiffen. Showing her face there again was going to be a real pain. "If it's you guys than there shouldn't be any problem."

"No way. 50%?" Kagami repeated, as if the idea of such a thing was totally unheard of.

"You said you were hungry, and I... I want to thank you guys. I hope that's okay."

Kuroko opened his mouth to say something, but Kagami beat him to it. "Looks like you just saved yourself a shit-ton of money!" Kagami cackled. He slapped Kuroko between the shoulder blades and practically danced. "50% off! _Holy crap!"_

"You can get another milkshake, Kuroko-kun," Hana told him. Seeing Kagami grin ear to ear like that made her feel bad for Kuroko's wallet, but hopefully he'd take advantage of the discount as well. "The one you were drinking got knocked over when you rushed to help me... I hope this makes up for it."

He looked at her. His whole body was turned toward her as the redhead celebrated by the door behind him, but it didn't actually _feel_ like he was looking at her. Though his expression doesn't change, Hana could tell that his mind was somewhere else.

After clearing her throat, she repeats his name. "Kuroko-kun?"

He came into something resembling focus. He smiles. "Thank you."

She smiles back.

Kagami thanks her twice before stepping out of her apartment, having gotten over much of the awkwardness. And Kuroko waves to her as he begins to shut the door behind them.

 _This is good. This is better._ She tells herself. She feels giddy again, like the way she'd felt before when Kagami had called to her door when they'd first arrived. As if they'd always been close.

Kuroko's figure disappears and Hana drops her hand on top of the warm bento in her lap. Her headache was replaced by the pounding of her heart.

 _Why do I feel so relieved?_

* * *

 **A/N:** Writing this chapter was an emotional roller coaster for me, but necessary =u= Hope to see ya'll in the next one~!


	8. Chapter 8

_Don't go. Please, don't go._

Hana could remember telling that to someone. But for some reason, she couldn't recall who it was. A silhouette appears in front of her, and somehow, a part of her knows that this is the person that she was thinking of. She smiles, and reaches for their arm in hopes of gaining their attention, but they immediately begin to walk. Hana calls out to them, but her voice won't come. She starts screaming, demanding that they stop, but she remains a mute. Soon there're other people in the room with them, and a lot of them are in her way. The room was loud for some reason, but not because of the crowd. She can feel herself jogging- no, running now, but she isn't getting any closer to the other person. She wasn't going anywhere and it put her in despair. She didn't know what was going on.

 _Don't go. Please, don't go._

Her hand reached forward, fingers extended out, trying desperately to get to them. They kept walking.

There are some images swirling around her head, but she can't get a firm hold of them either. Then the room becomes even louder; this time words are shouted out and laughter surrounds her. It rises to a deafening level and it feels like her head is going to explode.

 _No, please. Don't leave me alone._

Hana's heart was racing as she turned her head away from her pillow and gulped in some air. _Breathe. Just breathe._ Her body slumped forward as she sat up, and she placed her arms on either side of her as she gasped for breath. _Breathe in, breathe out, repeat._

"It's okay, it's okay." She doesn't open her eyes just yet, but she becomes aware of the hand on her back. "Hana, hey. Don't worry, you're okay. It was just a nightmare."

"M-Maika?" she asks brokenly.

"It's me. I'm here," she reassures her. Her hand continues to rub circles against her back until her breathing goes back to normal. "Feel better?"

With dull fingers, Hana pawed at her face and rubbed her eyes, nodded.

Maika let out the deep breath she'd been holding in and dropped her arm. "Oh, thank God. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Hana squeezed the blanket in her lap as she watched the brunette press a hand against her own heart. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Not your fault. I mean it was, but it just caught me off guard is all. As long as you're okay then..." The distinct sizzle of ingredients against a frying pan vibrated against their ears, and Hana has to press the edge of the blanket to her nose to mask the burnt smell. Maika dashed toward the kitchen. _"Oh no, oh shit!"_

Somewhere to Hana's left, a group of people started laughing, and she whips her head around half-expecting herself to be pulled back into her dream. Instead, she was met with the faces of a panel of guests on the television screen. They must've been listening to a really funny joke since most of the guests looked like they were gonna crap their pants from laughing. With that harsh wake-up call out of the way, Hana finally took the moment to absorb her surroundings and shake off whatever grogginess clung to her system. She wasn't in her bedroom like she'd initially assumed, but on her living room couch.

 _What the heck? Did I actually crash here?_

The aching pains in her back and shoulders zapped their way up her neck, and she frowned. The shape her body was in seemed like enough proof, but that still didn't explain what Maika was doing here. A stream of unhappy dialogue has her glancing toward the kitchen, where her friend was hurriedly fanning the remaining smoke through an opened window with a dish towel.

"You made breakfast?" Hana asked.

Maika scrunched her nose. "If you count whatever's survived of breakfast, than yeah... I made breakfast."

Hana rubbed at her eyes, wondering if she was still asleep. "Okay... Let me rephrase that. _Why_ are you making breakfast?"

"To eat," she answered obviously.

 _"_ Ugh, no, I mean... I know I knocked out and all, but I don't think I remember answering the door...?"

"That's because you didn't," Maika commented idly. "I used the spare key you gave me. After ringing the doorbell like crazy, I figured I'd let myself in." She pulled out a key from her skirt pocket and dangled it in Hana's direction. After putting it away, Maika reached into one of the cupboards for a clean glass, then went to the fridge for a jug of orange juice. "You've really got to stock up your fridge, Hana. I couldn't find anything edible in here and had to go downstairs for two cartons of eggs."

"You didn't come here for burnt eggs."

 _"Hey!"_ At Hana's expectant gaze, the bespectacled girl pouted and turned her attention to arranging the food on the plate. "I... I got a call from Kuroko last night."

"You what...?"

"He called me to let me know that you'd collapsed at work. And since he didn't feel comfortable about leaving you all alone at home, he called me." Her jaw was set and her shoulders looked stiff- Even her voice had taken on an edge. All obvious signs that she was trying to hold her temper back.

Hana flinched when she suddenly turned around and started walking toward her, her expression a mask of what it previously was. "I tried calling you to let you know that I was coming over, but you wouldn't answer. So I got a taxi and hauled ass over here thinking you'd fallen in the bathroom or something. But you were just passed out on the couch," she said with a humorless grin. The brunette placed the food on the coffee table and directed a silent curse at the overcooked meal. She slipped out of the apron she'd borrowed and pinched her brow at the clock that hung above Hana's head. "Shoot. I'm going to be late if I don't leave right now. I called the school earlier and told them you'd be out the rest of the week. So please don't bother showing up to class."

Hana followed Maika's gaze to her injured leg hidden beneath the blanket. She wiggled it a bit but could only feel a mild pain from her heel to mid-calf; much better than before, all things considering. In fact, it seemed like sleeping on the couch had caused a greater strain on her body than the actual injury itself.

"Hana?"

"Y-yeah?"

Maika was crouched in front of the entrance way and putting on her shoes. "I left lunch for you in the fridge in case you get hungry, and there's also some snacks if you want any on the kitchen counter. I have to drop by my house later to pick up some more things, but I don't think it'll take too long. Just text me in case you need anything."

Her loose bun bobbed in all directions as she nodded obeyingly to her every word. When her friend started laughing, Hana blinked. "Wh-what?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering if this was how all moms acted before leaving their sick kids alone."

"Maika..."

She smiled. "Aww, don't make that face. Anyways, I expect a thorough report when I come back. So prepare yourself!" She jabbed a finger at her before closing the door, and Hana gulped.

A thorough report, indeed, Hana thought nervously. Even when upset, Maika wasn't the type to skimp over gossip. And boy, did she have a lot to talk about when she got back.

After a few more seconds of reflecting, Hana picked up the plate and began to inspect its contents. The bacon was almost unidentifiable, and whatever Maika had deemed edible appeared more like charcoal than actual strips of bacon. She took a healthy bite of one of the eggs since they were the only things that looked normal, but immediately found herself forcing them down to keep herself from gagging. When she turned them over, she saw that they were burnt black.

* * *

After scraping off the outer layer of her precious friend's cooking, Hana decided to move to the opposite end of the couch to watch TV. Her leg didn't hurt as long as she made sure to stay off of it, but her body felt like it had just run a marathon after finally settling herself down. She managed to prop her leg on top of some cushions the same way Kagami had done last night, but the blanket wouldn't stay put at the elevated angle and continue to slip off her bare toes. The whole house had grown cold since Maika had opened the windows to air out the burnt smell, though the scent of bacon still stubbornly clung to her nostrils and clothes. Cooking definitely wasn't her strong suit, but she'd had nothing but good intentions, Hana reminded herself. Plus, Hana wasn't really in a position to whine about the food after she'd gone out of her way to look after her on such short notice. She could definitely tell that she'd been worried, despite the clenching and unclenching of her jaw when she'd mentioned Kuroko. It had probably really irked her to find out about her condition from someone other than herself.

But when had he called Maika? Right after they'd left? Hana stared blankly at the television screen, not really focusing on the program, but on the events that had transpired. _After all that talk to settle things with him, I just cloistered up like a scared little kid and cried. What's wrong with me?_

She buried her face into the blanket and groaned as loud as she could since nobody could hear her. How many more times was she going to have to go through this? Get Kagami alone, clear everything up, and move on. Why was that so difficult to do? But instead of accomplishing anything, she'd ended up giving him and Kuroko that generous discount instead. She'd owed him, of course. That was a given. But that warm feeling she'd gotten after having done so was one she hadn't been expecting. She'd been so eager to end their meeting on a good note, too, but that wasn't what she'd initially intended at all.

Maybe a part of her was hoping to replicate the feeling?

Hana scoffed under her breath and lowered the blanket to cool her warm cheeks. Was that it? She'd just wanted to look good? Since when did looking good in front of him become so important? And now that she thought about it, hadn't Kuroko initially seen her cry the moment she'd slipped? She'd burst into tears when he'd caught her, but had been too distracted by the pain to really notice.

Her face flushed red at the indignity of it all, and how she wished desperately that she could reverse time. It seemed like the two of them were always there to see her at her worst...

 _Well, I never asked them for their help._ She turns up the volume to drown out the world. Some singer-songwriter is playing for the host and his other guests, his dissonant voice vibrates from the speakers, over her obsessive thoughts.

Hana saw herself as a productive person with self-destructive tendencies. In other words, a person who suffered from anxiety on a daily basis. Anxiety was like a long, never ending to-do list that would continue to expand in her head, and it became the motivation to do anything and everything, except that. Like constant thinking that led to never getting anything done. It was a difficult thing to describe to people who didn't face the same issue, but Hana supposed that one way of describing the nagging feeling would be by comparing it to a catchy song. Hana was the type of person who didn't just get a song in her head for a couple of minutes, but for a few days. On an average day when she'd wake up, the song is playing. When you go to the grocery store to pick out a head of broccoli, when you take a shower or are just sitting on the couch. It keeps you awake at night while you lay in bed. The next morning, there's that damn song again, a song you don't even like. A song you hear playing in the bank, or mall, or coffee shop or... everywhere. A stupid catchy song. Those are always the ones that get stuck in there. It was like a form of self-torture. A distraction from using brain capacity to focus on positive contributions to something, anything productive. And that was what Hana had begun to hear around the two basketball players. A song that had become quite catchy.

As if to support her hypothetical comparison, Hana hums along to the strung out tune from the musician and collects the dirty dishes. When she stands, she shifts her weight to her left side and begins to head toward the kitchen like a runner on a limp. Once there, Hana left the dishes in the sink and slumped against the counter for a few moments of rest. At least it was comforting to know that she wouldn't be confined to the couch all day.

Once noticing that her phone was on top of the microwave, she grabs it and presses her finger to the touch screen, bringing it to life. 7 notifications greet her immediately on the home screen: 3 missed calls, 2 text messages, and 1 voicemail that all belonged to Maika. Each of which occurred during the span of an hour. Already regretting how reluctant she'd been to call her last night, Hana began to clear her inbox when she noticed that the most recent text hadn't been from Maika at all. It had been sent earlier this morning and was from her cousin, Chigusa. Opening the message, she saw that she'd sent her a photograph of the dinner that her brother, Rinnosuke, had made for her yesterday- which was more like a mini buffet consisting of all of Chigusa's favorites. _That must've taken him forever to make_ , Hana thought wearily. Below the photo was a quick thank you to Hana for having delivered the items to Rin-kun, and a request to go visit them once she was free. Hana smiled, grateful that things had at least turned out okay for her younger cousin. Maybe she'd go see everyone after getting settled back in at work. Being on sick leave like this made her want to work twice as hard once getting back, so hopefully she'd be able to visit them in the weeks ahead.

It was also kind of relieving to know that Chigusa had decided to thank her through text than in person. If she'd gone with the latter, then word of her injury would've definitely reached Rin-kun's ears, and he would've gone all mother hen on her again in an instant. _One hen's enough,_ Hana mused, imagining for a second her best friend sitting over a nest full of eggs. Hana chuckled. She was really happy that she had someone who'd go to such lengths to check up on her. Happy, and a smidge guilty.

Hana sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. There were stray locks of it falling loosely from her bun, and she could tell by the texture of it that it was probably due for a wash. Looking down she also realized that she was still wearing the same clothes she'd worn to and from work. Scrunching her nose in disgust, she walked toward the bathroom on numb legs. With some effort, she managed to wash her hair without falling flat on her face. She knew that Maika would lecture her for being reckless when she got back, but she really didn't want to have to smell like burnt bacon the whole time she was home. When she was done she carefully hobbled out of the bathroom on heavy limbs and entered her bedroom for a fresh change of clothes. Getting dressed was another challenge all on its own, but putting on her favored hoodie and sweatpants was well worth all the strain.

Unwilling to go back for the blanket she'd left in the living room, Hana lays down on her bed and curls into a ball, tucking her knees into the oversized hoodie. Soon she's closing her eyes, and she finds herself unable to move from her spot. She needed... rest. At first, she's thinking about how lazy she was being for leaving the TV on in the other room, but with her bedroom door open, the voices began to sound like a comforting drone to her ears. Then the pattern of distracting thoughts continued when she began to remember about her dream. It had probably been best that they hadn't shown their face, Hana decided. Because if they had, than it would've only made waking up that much more difficult.

* * *

Hana could hardly remember the last time she'd slept so peacefully. It had been at least a few days, if not more. Her insomnia often turned days into a laborious crawl, the nights into a four-minute mile, anxiety persisting through it all. But today's nap had been fairly successful. She'd slept a total of 6 hours and could actually feel a victory lap coming on.

 _Mom and dad would be so proud._

When her stomach began to grumble, she sat up in bed and reached for the ceiling, grateful to be in a higher spirits now than she had this morning. The moist hair that stuck to her head like a spitwad didn't even bother her, and that was really saying something. A sharp chill hugged the floorboards as she stepped out of her room, but she was in too much of a good mood to feel bothered by the window she'd left open. She glanced over at the bubbly children that greeted her from the television as they sang about the deliciousness of candy, and pacing into the tiny kitchen, Hana zealously went for the fridge door and opened it. A collection of pre-made sandwiches awaited her inside, along with a jug of orange juice, and bags of pre-packaged salad. Hana exhaled slowly, more relieved than she wanted to admit.

She takes one of the sandwiches and grabs a water bottle from the counter. The snacks that Maika had left for her sat beside them: A bag of potato chips, pocky, and Kinoko no Yama. Hana sent her friend a small prayer of thanks before going for the pocky.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!"

"Welcome back," Hana greeted lazily, waving to her from where she sat on the couch. She was just getting started on the bag of chips after having finished the box of pocky.

Maika grinned. "Whoa, look at you. You actually look like you're having fun."

"I think I should skip school more often," Hana quipped, stuffing her mouth with an over-salted chip. She licked her fingers as she studied over the bags that Maika held in her arms. "What'd you bring from your house?"

"Clothes, toiletries, snacks, and manga." One of the overnight bags slipped off her shoulders and met the floor with a loud thump. That one probably had all the manga. "I'm gonna get you to finish that series you dropped now that you're incapacitated, and can't say no."

"I can still say no," Hana snorted. "So I'm guessing you'll be here for the next few days?"

"Till Sunday, at least. Dad's not coming home until Sunday afternoon, and he said I could stay here as long as I got homework done." She left her school bag at the kitchen table with a little too much force and hopped into the armchair by the couch. "Did you... _Did you take a bath?"_

Hana's fingers almost reached for her forehead before remembering they were covered in grease and salt. "All I did was wash my hair."

"You could've slipped!"

"But I didn't. I haven't taken a bath in 2 days so I figured I'd at least _try_ and look like I care about my hygiene."

Maika gave an exasperated sigh and sat back against her chair. "You're absolutely crazy, you know that? Don't blame me if you end up falling on your butt when I'm not around, and have to go to the hospital."

"For butt surgery?" The two of them laughed, realizing just how lonely the both of them had been without having the other one around. Hana continued to smile as she lowered the volume on the TV. "So how was school? Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Interesting?" Maika's eyes peered up thoughtfully as she tried to remember. "Well... I got to spend lunch with Ayumi today."

Hana's smile disappeared. Much to her surprise, Ayumi hadn't even crossed her mind. "Oh,... right. How'd that go?"

Maika pushed up her glasses and shrugged. "Same old, same old. We just talked about boys and whatever else came to mind. "

"She didn't ask about me?"

"Yeah. I told her she could come with me to see how you were doing, but she didn't want you getting mad at her for ditching club again." Maika's eyes quietly surveyed her before asking, "Did you have a fight?"

"A fight? Is that what she told you?"

"No. But she tried to change the subject when I kept asking her about it. It really seemed to be bothering her."

Hana rolled her eyes at Maika's softened tone. She didn't know why that annoyed her so much. "Well, you saw how things went with her at lunch yesterday. I was really pissed that she'd singled Kagami out like that."

"And you talked to her about it after school?"

"No. But when she tried to talk to me, I did sort of snap at her to leave me alone. And then I told her to go to her club because she's been ditching, lately."

Maika plastered on a grin. "Wow, no way. _The_ Iwasaki Hana, actually gave Ayumi attitude."

"What? I speak up when I need to."

"Hana, you're usually too conscious of what you say when you're around her. You did do a good job of holding your ground during the beginning of lunch, though."

Hana looked at her sharply. "You act like I can't."

"You do, but only when you're ready to explode." At that, Maika quickly sounded the bell to end round one. "Anyways, let's talk about more important matters, shall we?"

"Do we have to?" Hana groaned, reluctant of what she was bound to ask next.

"Yes!" Maika could hardly contain herself as she hopped excitedly in her seat. "How did it go with Kagami-kun!? Kuroko told me that he carried you from Maji Burger to your apartment, but no other details than that! Did he come running over when he heard about what happened? Did he smell good?"

"Um, sorry about not calling you last night," Hana apologized. A weak attempt to change the subject, but genuine nonetheless.

Maika was strong-willed, however. "It's fine, already! I was angry that you didn't ask for my help and stuff, but I'll only forgive you if you dish every detail. Now answer!"

Hana suppressed a groan. "Ugh, well, Kagami did run to Maji Burger, but it wasn't exactly because of me..."

* * *

Maika had moved from the armchair to the couch as Hana had begun to recount everything that happened, all the while clutching a cushion to her chest in anticipation. She'd spent the last 20 minutes commenting and asking questions, along with the occasional girlish shriek at pivotal points in the conversation. She knew that it was difficult to get Hana to open up about things, so she did her best not to let her excitement take over. Though, it was still easy to see how frustrated she'd get whenever Hana would keep her responses deliberately short. A whole bag of chips later, Hana had finally reached the end of her story. She'd become visibly upset again after retelling the scene with Kagami, and how frustrated she'd been with herself for crying.

Maika held her chin in her hand and faced Hana squarely. "It sounds like it could've been a fight or flight response? Or... maybe that isn't the right term to use here. I'm sure that what you were experiencing was a defense mechanism, but pinpointing the source of your panic is kind of tricky. It wasn't like you were trying to defend yourself, _per se_... It was more like you were panicked about defending Kagami than anything else."

Hana nodded even though she wasn't sure if it was true. "Th-that makes sense. I was really overwhelmed with trying to stop him from getting the wrong idea."

"He caught you off guard, didn't he? You weren't even expecting him to blame himself, so you panicked. It's nothing to beat yourself up over."

"But there wasn't any reason to cry..." Hana murmured.

"It wasn't like you could've prepared for that beforehand. It was an overwhelming moment, Hana. And you were in pain." When Hana continued to avert her gaze, Maika tilted her head, scanning her face. "What? What is it?"

Her throat felt drier than when she'd first started eating the chips, and Hana has to sip from her water bottle before answering. "I just... I thought that I was getting better."

"You are, Hana. You're way better than you were a few months ago. "

Hana could tell by how she said it that she meant it, but like always, Hana had her doubts. Why did this have to be so complicated? The silence ensued, and Hana's eyes swept distractedly around the room for something to stare at.

"I knew that taking that lady's shift was a bad idea," Maika murmured, breaking their pause. Her chocolate eyes flashed behind her glasses, first lighter then darker as she spoke her next words. "You knew that you were hurt and you still chose to fill in for her at work. If I'd known, I would've stopped you."

Hana's gaze faltered. The effect of Maika's temper was unnerving. "H-her daughter was sick."

"And _you_ nearly busted your head open while trying to mop. If Kuroko hadn't been there... Who knows what could've happened," she said, followed by a silence.

Hana's heart dropped. She hadn't told anybody that she'd been injured since Sunday, and Maika hadn't said anything earlier, but she'd clearly been bothered by it. So much for proving to herself that she could be responsible. Maika had said the same thing that her shift manager had, proving once again how careless Hana had been. And what would Nishimura-san think when she found out about the news? She'd probably blame herself for forcing an injured girl to go to work in her stead. Even when trying to do the right things, Hana couldn't do anything right.

"Still, none of this would've happened if he'd just done a better job of protecting you."

"W-wait, you're blaming Kuroko, now?" The higher pitch her voice had taken had her clearing her throat, but Hana still managed to meet her gaze. "I'm the one who tripped down the stairs in the first place. I would've been worse off if he hadn't shown up like he did."

Maika folded her arms. "You didn't come out unscathed, though. In fact, that little mishap could've cost you your job."

"But it didn't." Her anger welled up inside of her as she thought about it. "He was the one who saved me- _twice, even_. So putting all the blame on him for this is more than a little stupid."

The brunette returned the glare with a challenging look of her own. "Oh? So now I'm stupid?"

"Yeah, you are," she said in the same undertone, but it was more to herself than to Maika. She hesitated now as she tried to voice her next thoughts, then turned away so that she couldn't see her expression. "You even said that you'd forgive me for not calling you... but, obviously you'd still be mad. And I... I shouldn't have acted so recklessly on my own, either. I didn't want to be a bother to anybody, but I still ended up worrying a lot of people around me. I'm sorry, Maika."

The girl's expression softened at the first glimpses of tears in her friends' eyes, and she exhaled a deep breath. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry for kicking you while you were down..."

"That's okay." Her voice was lighter, then it took on a somber quality. "I deserved that much after doing something so dangerous. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but I should've told you. And I should've told Nishimura-san that I was going to be busy since it was the truth. I might've been doing her a favor, but I ended up breaking my promise to Marmalade."

"You're still feeling really guilty about that, huh?" Maika asked, echoing Hana's somberness.

"I don't think I would've told Kagami about it if I wasn't," Hana admitted. "But it wasn't like I was prepared to adopt her in the first place. If I'd brought her home, than she wouldn't have even had her own bowl."

"Then why don't we go buy one?" Maika's voice started to sound excited again. "We'll buy everything that we need and be ready for her by next week."

"You're serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"But... I'm like this," she gestured.

"And you'll be better by next week. As long as you rest, of course," Maika stated matter-a-factly.

A half smile dimpled her face. "You'd go with me to get Marmalade?"

Maika arched a brow. "Do you even have to ask?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Baby needed some time to herself this chapter, so I apologize for the lack of Kuroko and Kagami. So much has been happening these past 7 chapters that I felt it was time to slow things down. Look forward to some familiar faces popping up~! :D


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for not updating for so long you guys :[ There's been so much happening in real life, and I lost interest in writing for a while, and then there was college and family stuff... *sigh* Anyways, I've managed to finish this chapter (finally!) and I really hope you'll like it! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and faved the past year as well. It makes me so happy to hear that some of you can relate to Hana in some way, or have also been in situations similar to her. So thank you for being so patient, and I hope you'll enjoy~!

...

* * *

"Yeah mom, I'm doing them now." A pair of polka-dotted socks crossed the floor and stopped in front of the tiny sink of her kitchenette. Turning the faucet, she brought the phone up close to the rushing water and put it on speaker so as to convince her mother she'd been washing dishes the entire time. "I just finished prepping for dinner later, too."

 _"Oh? And what's on the menu for tonight?"_ Her mother asked.

Hana twisted her head in Maika's direction, but her friend could only shake her head and smile. Just as they'd been about to do their homework, a sudden craving for chocolate chip cookies prompted Maika's hundredth trip downstairs that week- right before Hana's mom called to ask if she was getting enough to eat. Her sugar intake was certainly off the charts, but there was no doubt that mentioning it would give her mom a cow. "Ugh," Hana began, but her list of excuses became jumbled in her head, "curry...?"

A loud sigh swept through the speaker. _"Honey, if I find out that you've been eating instant ramen again, instead of making your own meals-"_

The corner of Hana's lips gave a faint twitch. "I haven't," she says. And besides, the jumbo-sized box of ramen she'd bought two weeks ago was already empty and sitting beside the fridge. "I-I mean, I might've eaten ramen a few days ago, but not last night. I had yakisoba last night."

 _That Maika had bought straight from the convenience store._ She'd given up on cooking after burning through both cartons of eggs, so just about everything they'd eaten this week had been ready-made meals instead of freshly prepared...

Hana shut off the faucet and opened the refrigerator door. "I'm just running low on veggies, okay? It's no big deal." Her hair bun bobbed as she leaned slightly against the door, eyeing the interior of her empty fridge in astonishment. _I can't believe I let it get this bad again._ She had the advantage of living above a 24-hour convenience store, so why did this keep happening? She spent a few more moments in front of the doorway before shutting it slowly, releasing the door a few seconds later. "Stop worrying so much, mom."

 _"Well, what sort of mother_ _ **wouldn't**_ _worry about their child?"_ Hana glances at the girl sprawled on her living room floor and considers switching off the speaker. A males' voice suddenly called out from somewhere in the background- her father, no doubt. He sounded a little frustrated as he repeated her mother's name, leaving Hana to suspect she'd snuck off on her own to get the call done in the first place. _"Okay, I'll be right there!"_ Her mom shouts. _"Looks like I have to go."_

"Sounds busy over there."

 _"Yes, but it just proves that people like the food,"_ she chuckled. _"Your father says that everyone in town's stopped by at least once, but I think he's just exagger-_ _ **EH?**_ _I SAID I WAS ON MY WAY!"_ Maika presses the back of her hand to her mouth as a light laugh tinkled out, and Hana didn't hesitate to turn off the speaker this time as her mother continued to shout. She listened to her mom drone on until she said her "Bye. Love you, too." And ran a hand down her face.

Maika paused for a moment to find her milk-filled mug and plunged a cookie into its depths. "Sounds like your parents are doing well."

Hana sighed. "According to the magazine they sent me, weekends seem to bring in the biggest crowds for them."

"They were mentioned in a magazine? That's amazing."

"I know, but I still worry. They're so old now, and still working so hard. I wish they could've invested in something more relaxing."

"You're going to make your mom cry if she hears you talking like that," Maika warned, wagging her cookie at her. "You should be happy they still have so much pep in their step. If you want to talk about old than look at my dad. He's in his mid-40s, and still dresses like he's in his 20s!"

"Don't exaggerate. When has he ever dressed like that?"

"Around the house. He's always buying clothes that he knows doesn't suit him, and then whines when I tell him not to wear them out in public. You know those big, floral-patterned Hawaiian shirts he brought back from his trip last year?"

Hana snorted. "You mean the matching set he bought for you guys to wear the next time you went together?"

"Yes, those! Well, imagine the same shirt, _only covered in Brad Pitt's face."_

 _ **"Benjamin Button!?"**_

Maika shuddered involuntarily at the memory of that particular day, and paused before grabbing her mug off the table, in fear of dropping it. "He liked it so much, that he decided to make one of himself. _And he gave it to me...!"_

Abruptly, Hana's grin widened. "Of his own face? You could make some serious money if you get him to sign it."

"I've thought about it, too, but it would break his little heart." And this is what they discussed as Maika gobbled cookies and Hana washed dishes for real this time; Mr. Nozomu's tastes, and other things based on their home life.

"I'm surprised the paparazzi still hasn't gotten a hold of this information. He could make a new line of face-covered shirts, and I bet they'd still sell like hotcakes."

"Please don't give him any ideas," Maika groaned, falling dramatically on the floor. "I don't want those ugly things to be the next big thing. In fact, I have my dad's gift hidden away in the back of my closet. Made sure to never to see the light of day again."

"Such a cold-hearted woman."

"You know it."

It's been four days since Maika had become Hana's temporary caregiver, and the weekend had arrived in the blink of an eye. Hours would be spent in front of the TV watching movies, napping, or mindlessly scrolling through videos on the internet until her friend got back from school. She'd even been convinced into doing some online shopping to pass the time, which Hana had been reluctant to do until she saw the great deals on pet supplies and the like. The fluffy bed she'd ordered for Marmalade two days ago had arrived early this morning, with the cat bowl expected to arrive on Monday. Hana's leg was mostly healed as well, despite having to still wear an ankle brace to ease her friend's concerns. Maika had been super strict about not letting her overexert herself, so she hadn't been allowed to cook any of the meals or do any of the chores around the house until now. Not that any of them got done anyway. The sink was full of dirty dishes and the trash was full of all the empty food containers and candy wrappers Maika had bought for them. So to sum it up, Maika might've sucked at cooking and cleaning, but when she treated you to something, boy, did she go all out.

 _Sorry, mom. I'll make sure to buy groceries once my house arrest is over_.

As Hana continued to wash dishes, she began to recall the last time she'd run out of food and fallen into a dark state of despair; and that had been during Japan's infamous Golden Week. There had been lines out of Maji Burger's door every single day, so Hana's phone was ringing off the hook as she was being called in to work by her stress-ridden manager. She'd only been working at MB for two weeks at the time, so the experience of working at a fast food place during that hectic holiday had pushed her to her absolute limits. Just so she could keep up with the demand of work, Hana had skipped grocery shopping and chores so she could get a few hours of sleep, so Maika (who'd been worried enough by her friend's job already) had invited her over to her house for a sleepover. And with the thought of free food in mind, Hana had jumped at the chance no questions asked. Of course, snacks and drinks had been distributed a plenty, but Maika's BL manga had become the constant topic of the night, so Hana hadn't been able to fully enjoy the food at all. The only highlight of the event had been in the morning when she could finally go home, but not before having a meal of blueberry pancakes that Maika's father was so famous for. Hana had been dropped off at home that day with her belly stuffed, and a box full of leftover pancakes; pancakes that she'd eaten for both lunch and dinner later that same day. Thinking it over now, Hana wondered how she'd ended up so desperate for food that she'd willingly stayed over at Maika's of all places.

"The pancakes. It was definitely the pancakes," she mumbled.

"You say something?" Maika says.

"Huh? Ugh, no..."

Glancing over at the living room, where the weatherman was going over the weekly forecast, Hana became aware of her friend idly hovering over her math homework. Being the study bug that she was, Hana had done a good job of catching up on the lessons she'd missed, and was able to finish assignments well before Maika had even gotten started. There was still English homework to complete, but Hana was positive she'd be able to finish it by the end of the day. And with homework out of the way, she'd finally be able to put in the final touches of cat-proofing her house- something she'd been surprisingly looking forward to.

 _Because I'll get to see Marmalade again...!_

Hana's mouth curled in anticipation at the thought, and she tugged on the curtain of the window above the sink to let in more sunlight. As the warmth enveloped her chest, she began to whistle to the rhythm of a commercial's catchy jingle and rinsed dinnerware before positioning it into the dish rack. Satisfied with her pace, the teenager glanced up through the window where the speck of a ball flew upwards and into a hoop.

Her gut somersaulted to her chest as she stopped what she was doing.

Since the night they'd walked her home, Hana hadn't heard anything from either Kagami or Kuroko. The coach had apparently kept to her word about extending practice that week, and Maika had reported (albeit disappointedly) seeing the duo fast asleep during lessons and even lunch time.

Seeing them like that had managed to keep Ayumi away, so Hana had gotten a break there. But it had also confirmed, much to Hana's chagrin, that the plotting and scheming would carry on even in the midst of her absence. Brainstorming plans with Ayumi had become Maika's new lunch time ritual, and it wasn't like she was against setting them up, either (She was just as vocal and enthusiastic about the pairing as Ayumi was).

Hana's most recent encounter only seemed to convince Maika that Hana's relationship with Kagami was steadily developing, and she wasn't about to let the frizzy-haired girl call it quits just yet. Not after seeing her interacting with a boy for what seemed like the first time since high school began. Hana was still hoping, though, that Maika would show a little more respect in her ability to find her own boyfriend. Then again, it wasn't like she'd made any attempts to socialize with boys outside of school in the past few months anyways. And her little encounter in the hallway with _**him**_ had been the very definition of horrible, so she couldn't really count that.

She might've just been playing mind games with herself, or whatever, but she just couldn't deny the attraction that seemed to spark whenever she and Kagami crossed paths. Hana wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, but she knew she had to talk to him if she ever planned on figuring out what it was. She'd considered texting both him and Kuroko about the discount from the other night, to try and bring it up as casually as possible. And when she couldn't drum up the courage to do that, she went with option B and tried to block them out of her head altogether.

Ultimately, though, she just couldn't help but dissect the events of that night.

The cauldron of thoughts prompted a soapy hand to reach for the curtain, but not before impulsively peeking one last time. To her surprise, a male with a shaved head lunged up to dunk a basketball in Kagami's place.

Hana's face grew instantly hot. _Stupid! You were just freaking out over a stranger! Have you totally lost it?_

"Hana?"

The fabric she'd been clutching onto tore from the curtain rods as she shrieked, splashing into the sink with a loud _POP-POP-POP-KER-FWUMP!_ Maika's yelp came from behind her as something heavy hit the floor, accompanied by a waterfall of plastic and other unknown artifacts.

 _"S-sorry! Are you okay?"_

"I might've lost a few years of my life, but I think I can deal."

Hana hurried to shut off the water as she pulled the soaked curtain out of the sink and onto the dish rack. Covering the kitchen floor behind her was an assortment of candy wrappers, empty food containers, tea packets, and a whole other assortment of their week's spoils. "What were you...?"

"Taking out the garbage," Maika answered flatly. She knelt down and took an armful of the clutter before squishing it back into the container. "I was gonna ask if you could help me since some of it was spilling. But if I'd known you were so scared of garbage, I would've thrown myself out a long time ago."

"I thought you were sitting in the living room."

"Maybe if you weren't so focused on whatever it was you were looking at, you would've noticed me sooner." She pushed her lenses up the bridge of her nose knowingly and waited for a reaction.

Hana bumped against the counter in shock. _Way to go, Hana. Why not just hang a sign that reads: BEST VIEW OF KAGAMI AT THE PARK, HERE! on your window?_

Too embarrassed to speak, Hana bent down to help Maika pick up the mess instead.

That was when the doorbell rang.

"Guests?" Hana said, instantly startled.

"I'll get it!" Maika said, rushing to the door.

"But I never have guests."

"All the more reason to see who it is!"

As the brunette hurried to open it, Hana was suddenly alarmed by the possibility of Kagami or Kuroko standing outside. _"M-Maika, wait!"_ She crashed into her friend's backside as the door flew open.

 _ **"Surprise~!"**_ shouted the group that awaited them outside.

"Oh wow!" Maika gushed.

The presence of all nine of her relative's faces flustered Hana to no end. _"Wh-wha-!? What is-?"_

"We're sorry we couldn't get here sooner," Chigusa apologized. "It took everyone forever to get ready before leaving the house."

" _'Everyone'?"_ muttered Satomi, a similar looking girl fashioned with long braided hair. _"_ _ **We**_ were all ready. _Toru_ was the one who couldn't find any of his shoes."

"I couldn't find them because _Takuya_ couldn't remember where he'd left them!" Toru defended, scowling.

"Why do you always let him borrow your stuff when you know he's just gonna lose it?" Yuuto questioned his older brother.

Takuya shrugs. "What's the big deal? I found them didn't I?"

 _"In the backyard!"_ Karin snapped, looking up from her cell phone. "What are you? _A dog?_ "

Taishi, the shortest and youngest of the boys snickered. "Takuya-nii-san was called a dog!"

" _Enough!_ We finally get to visit Hana-chan, and this is how you act?" Chigusa chastised.

"Ah, your family's so lively!" Maika murmured.

Maybe that was why she hadn't gone to visit in so long, Hana thought. She'd subconsciously remind herself how tiring it was to be around so many children. Hana didn't particularly _hate_ children, they were just loud and annoying and better in small doses... As the siblings continued to weigh in on whose fault it was for arriving late, Hana noticed the large plastic bags that both Rinnosuke and his brother, Haruo, were carrying. "You guys brought food?" She asked.

"We thought we'd have a feast!" Satomi jumped in.

"T-to celebrate the occasion!" Chigusa explained, letting go of her brother's cheeks. "Since it's the first time we've come to visit you."

Maika caught Chigusa's hand. "Then let's not waste any more time! Come in come in! You guys want some snacks? My name's Maika by the way."

As her friend led her relatives inside, Hana suddenly felt a large hand on her head. Recognizing the gesture, she looked up and was met by alarm in her cousin's eyes. "Rin-kun?" Following his line of sight, she realized Rinnosuke was staring at the ankle brace she had on. " _O-oh!_ I'm doing a lot better now, so you don't have to worry about it! Maika's just making me wear it because she's kind of a worrywart." But her reassurances only seemed to make his frown get even droopier.

"Did tanukis break into your house, Hana? This place is a mess!"

 _"Taishi, you're being rude!"_

Having forgotten about the trash they'd left in the kitchen, Hana felt a wave of embarrassment color her cheeks. Her cousin's outburst did seem to snap Rinnosuke out of it, though, but now he appeared to have a whole other worry in mind. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt as he started marching past her. "Oh no you don't! _You're a guest so you don't have to clean!"_ she cried, but it fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Rinnosuke had taken it upon himself to gather all of the trash. Over in the kitchen, Haruo was trying to fix the curtain Hana had torn from above the sink, and Chigusa was washing dishes and passing them to Satomi to dry. Hana stood behind them after failing to convince them to leave things as they were, trying to stay out of their way now that she had no other choice.

"Oh, how reliable," Maika murmured. She'd hurried to collect her homework from the living room, and distributed whatever puddings and cookies were left to help keep the kids distracted. A move that would be sure to bite them in the butt later, Hana thought. "Aren't you glad I invited them over?"

 _"So it was you!"_

Maika pressed her index finger to her lips and guided Hana toward the entrance. "Your cousin Rin came to class on Thursday looking for you."

 _"And you didn't tell me?"_ Hana demanded.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well you didn't fail!" she confirmed, her frustration evident. "What did you even tell him? _You didn't tell him I fell down the stairs did you?_ "

Maika quickly shook her head. "No, no way. When he saw you were absent, I told him you'd be missing school for the next few days cuz of a sprained leg. No other details, I swear."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It wasn't until he started panicking that I suggested he come over to see you. It was his _friend_ who gave him the idea to bring the whole family over," Maika added plainly. She pouts and looks disappointed for not having thought of it herself.

Hana wears a frown.

 _Koganei...!_

After glancing behind her, Maika leans in closer. "Hey, isn't your cousin on the basketball team? If it's like that, than wouldn't he know Kagami-kun?"

"No! Not a word!" Hana says abruptly, causing Maika to rear back. "My parents made a rule not to let boys in the house while I was alone. And... and if Rin-kun finds out I was with not one, but _two_ guys, than he'd definitely have a major freak out."

"But if they're guys he knows-"

"Exactly! Teammates see each other all the time and are expected to work together and stuff. I don't want things to get weird between them because of- _because of whatever this weird thing between the three of us is."_

"You make it sound like you're in a love triangle!" Maika laughed, but Hana's expression wasn't nearly as thrilled.

"Will you quit joking around?" she says irritably. "Rin-kun's like an older brother to me, Maika. And he's always been super protective of these sorts of things. Especially since... well... you know."

Maika frowned, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Okay... I can understand why he'd be protective of you. But do you really think it would be a big deal? It wasn't like anything happ-"

The front door shut beside them and Maika was promptly cut off. _"R-Rin-kun!"_ Hana blabbed, her frizzy hair rising on end. Catching him off guard, she swooped in without warning and began to pull him toward the kitchen. "S-so what are we cooking today? I haven't eaten all day and I am _so_ so starving right now."

"We're having sukiyaki!" Taishi hollered gleefully from the living room.

 _"Sukiyaki?"_ Hana and Maika both echoed.

"I did say it was a special occasion," Chigusa says, approaching them as she dried her hands with a dish towel. "It isn't every day we get to come visit you, Hana. And it's been forever since we last saw you too." She leaned in and whispered slyly, "Plus, Rin-nii is still trying to make it up to me for the other day. So he was more than willing to go all out!"

Hana watched her cousin smother a smile and could hardly resist one of her own. "I guess I can't complain about that. But I... I don't think my cooking pot is going to be big enough for all of us."

"That's okay, we brought our own," Chigusa said, revealing the huge iron pot stowed in one of their bags. And Hana hadn't noticed till now, but there were more than enough ingredients piled in the rest of the bags to fulfill several servings. As well as...

"Beef!?" Maika exclaimed, shooting toward the dinner table. "Yes! My eyes do not deceive me!"

"You'd better not eat it all," Hana mumbled. But even she had to admit that the sight of beef had lifted her mood a good fraction of what it was before. She picked up two of the bags from the table and smiled approvingly at the amount of veggies that inhabited them. It even made her want to send her mom a picture to let her know she'd be eating healthily tonight. Hopefully, she'd be able to sense it with that mother's intuition she was always talking about.

"Hana-chan, what are you doing?" Satomi questioned, pulling up beside her.

"I'm gonna help chop the cabbage and leeks," she chirped, and set them down at the counter.

"But an injured person like you shouldn't even be in the kitchen right now."

"Eh?"

"She's right, you should go rest, Hana-chan," Chigusa agreed.

 _"Eh?"_

"She said to go rest," Maika chimed in, clutching onto the bag of beef like a newborn baby.

Hana's jaw dropped. "But I said I was okay!"

"You missed 3 days of school because you were _'okay'?_ " Haruo said skeptically, finding it appropriate to join the conversation now. _Thanks, Haruo._

"Well, I am now!" she screams dramatically. Shaking his head, Rin-kun appeared behind her and started to push her gently in the opposite direction."Wha-? Rinnosuke, not you too!"

 _ **"Go, Hana,"**_ they all commanded, uniting simultaneously to push her out of her own kitchen.

 _Unbelievable._

* * *

Hana's apartment was small and comprised of three areas: The first area was her bedroom, the second, the bathroom, and area three was the living room, kitchen, and dining room- all of which were very open and so close that they blended together. Now, with the addition of her relatives, the apartment meant for one felt as crowded as a can of sardines. Since being thrown out of the kitchen, she'd joined the youngest of the Mitobe siblings in the living room, and was surprised to find that the Wii had been fully set up upon arrival. She could hardly even remember the last time she'd played with the damn thing. It had been a gift from her older brother and was meant to keep her from feeling lonely now that she'd started living on her own. Thankfully, the layer of dust covering it had been thinner than she'd thought.

 _"_ Whooh! Money honey money- _**Match point sucka!**_ _"_ Takuya exclaims, as a crowd of animated characters on the television erupts into cheers.

"It's all in the wrist, Toru. You don't have to swing your arms so much."

"I tried it and it isn't working! Scoot back, Karin!"

The younger girl frowned. "Scoot back? That's how far the living room goes!"

"40 to 15, Toru!" Takuya informed his brother.

Toru swiped angrily at the air with his controller. "Stop bragging!"

"Oh, out!"

"Quit it!" Taishi cried, squishing up against Karin on the couch. "You're gonna hit me!"

Yuuto, who'd given up his seat for Hana, jerked back when the heel of Toru's foot bumped against his leg. "Will you watch where you're going? Didn't I just say it was all in the wrist?"

The cheering from the television grows louder. "I win!" Takuya shouts.

Toru grits his teeth. "Satomi, back me up here!"

"I'm a little busy right now," she yells from the kitchen.

"But I do better when I'm in a team."

Their older brother, Haruo, immediately rises from the kitchen table."I'll play! Pass me a controller!"

Hana shook her head, smiling. "I still can't believe you guys brought your own."

"Well all you had was one controller," Toru says, unable to keep his cynism from showing. "How's anyone supposed to play like that?"

"You can still play against the characters in the game, Mr. Wise Guy," Karin said, rolling her eyes.

"But that's so boring."

"He's right. It's way more fun when you're up against another person," Takuya chuckles. "So who's it gonna be? Haruo's on Toru's team, so what about mine? Hana-chan?"

"I'm happy watching from here," she insists. Hana knew better than to get in the middle of a game involving Takuya and Toru. Since their competitiveness with each other was ubiquitous in just about everything they did, staying out of their way was definitely for the best.

"I wish Koganei-kun were here," Toru mumbled. "He could wipe the floor with you while blindfolded!"

"Why? Because he used to play tennis?" Yuuto asked. "I don't think it would make much of a difference, though?"

Karin snorted. "Of course, it would. If he's practiced before then he should know what he's doing, right?"

Yuuto presses against the couch and shrugs. "But you could be a racecar driver in real life and still suck at playing Mario Kart."

"Okay, enough talk!" Takuya snapped, and tossed a blue controller in Yuuto's lap. "Yuuto, you're on my team."

As the four brothers pushed furniture aside to make more room, Maika plopped her crossed arms on the couch's armrest next to Hana. "Having fun?" she asked.

"Toru's controller still hasn't made contact with my face, so I guess a yes is appropriate. You haven't eaten all the meat yet, have you?"

"Naw, not yet." Maika paused for a moment to watch the boys elbow each other in their dash to score points. "They're way too energetic."

"More energetic than us anyway. All we've been doing is eat cookies all day."

Maika laughs and leans her head against Hana's shoulder. "I'm still having trouble telling them apart, though."

Hana follows her friend's line of sight and points toward the center of the group. "Who? Toru and Takuya? That's probably because they're part of a set of triplets."

 _ **"EH!? No way!"**_

The corners of her mouth turned up. "It's true. Toru, Takuya, and Satomi are triplets."

 _"That's amazing!"_ Maika cried, flabbergasted.

"You should've seen Chigusa's face when mom told us," Haruo told her, taking this moment to speak before serving. "She thought she was gonna have all boys, and she'd be the only girl in the family."

"Well at the time I did!" Chigusa exclaimed. She stood between Rinnosuke and Satomi at the kitchen counter, with carrots, green onions, and other vegetables spread around them. "Satomi was a pleasant surprise, though," she said, patting her sister on the head.

Toru and Takuya frowned. _"Hey!"_

"So starting from the oldest it's Rinnosuke-kun, Chigusa-chan, Haruo-kun..." Maika mumbles, counting her fingers.

Hana nods. "Then Takuya, Toru, Satomi, Yuuto, Karin, and Taishi." After mulling it over for a few seconds, Hana turned toward the kitchen. "By the way, why isn't Shuuichi-kun here?"

"He had a _'prior engagement'_ to take care of," Chigusa air-quoted.

 _"Eh, there's more of you!?"_ Maika asks, her volume increasing.

"Oh, it's just one more. He's a first year like you and Hana-chan."

"And he couldn't be here because of a date...?" Hana guessed. That seemed to be the case with most of her cousin's absences. Shuuichi-kun may have been popular, but he rarely ever missed events like Rinnosuke's basketball games, or family get-togethers. Not unless the girl he was currently seeing meant an awful lot to him.

Chigusa nods. She didn't look angry, but she wasn't exactly happy either.

"But he said he'd bring us desert later to make it up to us!" Taishi says cheerfully. "I-I mean you. Make it up to you."

A hand flew backward and the trio on the couch all ducked. Hana decided to snag the cushion from behind her and hold it up like a shield. Karin and Taishi did the same. A camera shutter clicks beside her, and Hana jumps. "You brought your camera?"

Maika adjusts the large lens to her digital camera. "I almost forgot I had it with me. Since its been a while since you've seen your family, I figured a couple of photos couldn't hurt. Say cheese!"

Hana ducks behind her cushion as the shutter sounds again.

Maika smiles deviously as she stands up. "Don't be that way, Hana! Hey, Karin-chan, hold your cousin for me please!"

Hana's heart drops. "D-don't do it, Karin!"

The younger girl smirks and snaps her phone shut before twisting her body in their direction. "You want one of the two of us?" she asks, grabbing Hana by the shoulders. "Cheese!"

Hana's grip on the cushion tightens as Maika tries to pull it away from her face. "You know I hate taking pictures! I never look good in them!" The frizzy-haired girl hurls her body between the space behind Karin and the couch in a futile attempt to hide, bumping her head against Taishi's arm. "Stop!" she cries.

"What are you guys doing?" Taishi asks, noticing the wrestling match the girls were having beside him. "Is that a camera?"

Maika laughs. "We're trying to take a picture of Hana but she won't let go!"

Her arms were fully wrapped around the cushion now in a vice grip as the two girls tried pulling it away. She even tries to kick Maika off the armrest but quickly regrets it as the action only seems to motivate her to continue with more enthusiasm than before. Karin wasn't showing any signs of letting up either, and soon, all Hana could do was scream for her life and use her legs to hold her crazy attackers back.

Taishi's mischievous smile stretched from ear to ear as he placed his tiny hands against Hana's sides and began to tickle her. Hana's body bucked as she erupted into a fit of giggles, and Maika and Karin laughed along with her. "Perfect! Keep doing what you're doing, Taishi-kun!" Maika ordered, pulling back far enough to get a decent shot.

Toru was the first of the boys to notice what was happening and glared at Karin's back as her feet knocked against his own. "Karin, what are you doing? You're in the way!"

Karin refused to turn around as she was finally able to yank the cushion away, and raises it above her head like a trophy. "I got it!"

"Hey, I said you were in the way."

"Does it look like I care? I'm kinda busy here."

"Busy...?"

"Looks like they're murdering, Hana," Yuuto observes plainly.

"Pft, her face is super red!" Takuya laughs, abandoning the game to see what all the commotion was about. "Hey, check it out, a camera!"

Hana was laughing so hard she started having trouble breathing. "You... little... punk...!" She reaches for Taishi's stomach and begins to tickle him back in retaliation. The youngest Mitobe began giggling and slapped the couch. Hana went even further and flung another cushion at Karin's face, causing her to fall backward against Toru's legs and sending them both toppling over. This caused everyone to dissolve into fits of laughter.

Chigusa stops chopping the cabbage on her cutting board as squeals of fright and hoots of laughter detonated from the living room behind her. Karin and the boys were in the midst of a fight consisting of couch cushions and whatever else was lying around that they could use as projectiles, while on the other end of the room, Maika and little Taishi worked together to tickle Hana silly.

"Hey! Didn't we agree Hana was too injured to be messing around right now?"

Stomach aching and face beet red, Hana's speech was so slurred she wasn't sure she could form words. "Chi... gUsa... _help...!"_

"Hana says she doesn't wanna take a picture with you so she's fighting back!" Maika shouts.

"Eh? You hate taking pictures with me that much?"

"Isn't that beyond the point?" Satomi mumbles.

"Yeah, so we're punishing her!" Taishi laughs.

"Oh, we're taking a picture!" Chigusa huffs, and quickly throws off her apron. It lands in her brother's arms as Chigusa tugs an unwilling Satomi along to join in on the fun.

With a shake of his head, Rinnosuke watches his family from the kitchen and bites his lip, stifling a laugh as he continued to prepare tonight's dinner.

* * *

 **A/N:** Maika's one of my fave characters, and I was happy to spend more time with her this chapter. Also, the Mitobe siblings~! x3 Did you guys know that there were originally only 9 siblings in the manga, but in the anime there were 10!? So weird xD But I've happily included Taishi cuz the more Mitobes the better! lol I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but please keep an eye out and thank you for your patience ; 3;


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